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Ln 


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LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Gl  FT    OF 


Class 


EVENTS 

of  the 

CIVIL  WAR 


General  Edward  Bouton 

with 
SKETCH     OF    THE    AUTHOR 


^. 

OF  THE  \ 

UNIVERSITY  ) 


EVENTS 


OF    THE 


CIVIL     WAR 


,     B  Y    . 


GENERAL   EDWARD    BOUTON 


OF  THE 

WITH         |    UNIVERSITY  ] 

OF 


SKETCH   OF  THE   AUTHOR 


ENGLISH  COAT  OF  ARMS  OF  THE  BOUTON  FAMILY 
Inscription  on   Bouton  English  Shield  or  Coat  of  Arms 

Omne  bonum  Dei  donum 
Translation:   "The  gifts  of  God  are  good" 


161403 


Ind 


ex 


Confederate  Testimony 

Loss  in  Buell's  Arni3T  April  6th 

Webster's  Heavy  Artillery 


PAGE 
THE  BATTLE  OF  SHILOH  .....  13 

The  Ouestion  of  Surprise     .         .  .  .  .  .15 

Confederate  Order  of  Battle  ....  17 

The  Furious  Attack  .  .  .  .  17 

Death  of  General  Albert  S3Tdney  Johnston  .  .  20 

The  Great  Artillery  Duel  and  Bouton's  Battery  .  21 

25 
27 
27 
Effective  Strength  of  Forces  ....  28 

Proportion  of  Artiller3r        .         .  .  .  .  .30 

A  Ludicrous  Event          ......  31 

Confederate  Casualties         .  .  .  31 

Lew  Wallace          .......          34 

Conclusion  .......  35 

SEIGE    OF    CORINTH         .  .  37 

General  Halleck  continually  asks  for  more  men          .  .         41 

Rebel  Works  around  Corinth  ....  44 

Streiig-th  of  Union  Forces  .  .  .  44 

Confederate  Strength  .  .  .  .  45 

General  Hallecks  Romantic  Reports  ...  45 

GENERAL   GRANT        .  .  .  .46 

Change  wrought  in  Four  Years  ....          51 

The  Contrast  .  .  .  .  .  .  .51 

Sherman's  opinion  of  Grant  ....  52 

Gen'l  Grant's  Rapid  Promotion  causes  Jealous}'  .  52 

Grant  as  a  Tactician  .....  55 

My  last  meeting  with  General  Grant       ....     56 

GENERAL  WILLIAM  TECUMSEH  SHERMAN  .  .60 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  OLD  VETERAN  .      65 

Guntown  ......  67 

FROM  PONTOTOC  TO  TUPELO      .  .        70 

BATTLE  OF  HARRISONBURGH  OR  TUPELO         ...        75 
EXPEDITION  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  .  .         82 

BOUTON'S  BATTERY          ....  .85 

THE  AMBUSHERS  AMBUSHED  ....  88 

WAR-TIME  RAILROADS  .     90 

MILITARY  PERMIT  BUSINESS  .  .  94 

GENERAL  EDWARD  BOUTON         .  .      103 

Supplement  .        105 

Origin  of  the  Name         .         .  .  105 

The  English  Branch         .  .  .  .106 

The  Irish  Branch  107 


Introductory 


The  Federal  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787,  failed  to  deter 
mine  the  right  of  states  to  withdraw  from  the  Union.  Had  that 
right  been  conceded  by  the  convention  the  constitution  then 
adopted  would  have  been  of  no  more  binding  force  than  a  rope  of 
sand. 

Some  of  the  separate  colonies  were  at  that  time  so  jealous  of 
their  rights  that  they  were  only  willing  to  make  sufficient  con 
cessions  to  enable  the  formation  of  a  confederation,  and  had  the 
denial  of  the  right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  been  insisted  upon 
at  that  time  the  adoption  of  the  articles  of  confederation  could  not 
have  been  accomplished. 

The  desire  of  the  people  of  the  north  or  free  states  to  restrict 
the  limits  of  the  slave  holding  section  and  prevent  the  introduction 
of  that  institution  into  new  territory,  was  the  cause  of  sectional 
differences  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  the  southern  or  slave 
holding  states  to  attempt  to  exercise  what  they  deemed  to  be  their 
reserved  right  to  withdraw  from  the  Union,  thereby  necessitating 
the  right  of  secession  to  be  determined  by  an  appeal  to  arms,  and 
thereby  precipitating  the  greatest  conflict  in  the  world's  history. 

In  contemplating  the  magnitude  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  considering  the  fact  that  the  tendency  to  arbitrate  differences 
between  nations,  the  fearful  efficiency  of  modern  weapons,  in 
creased  facilities  for  rapid  transportation,  as  well  as  higher  degrees 
of  civilization  and  Christianizing  influences  on  mankind  must 
tend  to  decrease  wars  and  cause  the  few  that  do  occur  to  be  of 
brief  duration  in  the  future,  leaving  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  to 
always  remain  the  greatest  contest  of  arms  in  the  world's  history, 


and  causing  its  most  important  events  to  be  studied  and  viewed 
with  an  ever  increasing  interest,  seems  an  incentive  to  those  who 
participated  in  that  contest  to  leave  as  complete  a  record  as  pos 
sible  of  the  principal  incidents  as  they  actually  occurred. 

The  War  of  the  Rebellion  cost  both  sides  some  $7,400,000,000. 
The  Franco-Prussian  War,  including  the  great  indemnity  paid 
by  France  to  Prussia,  $4,000,000,000.  The  Crimean  War, 
$2,000,000,000.  The  Prusso- Austrian  War  of  1866.  $333,000,000. 
The  Italian  War  of  1859,  $300,000,000. 

In  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  830,000  lives  were  sacrificed. 
In  the  Crimean  War,  750,000.  In  the  Russo-Turkish  War,  250,000. 
In  the  Franco- Prussian  War,  196,000.  In  the  Italian  War  of  1859, 
and  the  Prusso- Austrian  War  of  1866,  each  45,000. 

The  total  number  of  men  engaged  on  both  sides  during  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion  was  3,372,000,  being  a  vastly  greater  number  than 
in  any  other  war,  and  the  area  of  territory  embraced  in  the  opera 
tions  of  these  vast  armies  was  about  four  times  as  great  as  in  any 
of  the  modern  wars  of  Europe;  but  Avhere  this  contest  most  ex 
celled  was  in  the  great  number  of  battles  fought. 

History  records  but  few  wars  where  one  hundred  battles  were 
fought,  while  a  report  compiled  by  Congressman  Warnock  of 
Ohio  from  the  records  of  the  War  Department,  shows  that  1882 
battles  where  one  regiment  or  more  were  engaged  on  each  side 
were  fought,  and  that  in  112  battles  the  loss  on  one  side  or  the 
other  was  over  500  men. 

The  desperate  character  of  the  fighting  is  shown  by  the  well 
authentic  and  officially  recorded  fact  that  in  both  armies  there 
were  a  thousand  regiments  in  wrhich  the  losses  were  from  50  to  85 
per  cent. 

The  recent  war  between  Russia  and  Japan  has  always  been 
referred  to  as  a  very  bloody  war. 

In  the  Battle  of  Mukden,  which  was  the  greatest  and  bloodiest 
battle  of  that  wrar,  after  eight  days  fighting  the  losses  amounted 
to  no  more  than  20  per  cent,  of  the  number  engaged. 

On  several  occasions  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  more  than 
20  per  cent,  of  the  number  engaged  went  down  in  two  or  three 
hours. 


The  Battle  of  Shiloh 


HHE  Buttle  of  Shiloh  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  hardest 
•*•  fought  battles  of  the  War.  At  its  close  General  Grant 
pronounced  it  the  most  sanguinary  conflict  ever  waged 
on  the  American  Continent.  In  many  respects  it  was  the 
most  important  event  in  our  country's  history.  Had  the  ('oil- 
federates  been  successful  at  Shiloh,  the  country  would  have  been 
at  their  mercy  from  the  Tennessee  River  to  the  Great  Lakes;  and 
with  the  encouragement  that  such  an  event  would  have  given 
their  many  friends  and  sympathizers  in  Kentucky,  Missouri, 
Southern  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  added  to  the  feeling  of 
depression  and  discouragement  prevalent  on  the  side  of  the 
Union,  owing  to  the  lack  of  success  attending  their  arms  in  the 
East,  where  20,000  Union  soldiers  were  languishing  and  starving 
in  Rebel  Prisons,  the  success  of  the  Union  cause  would  have 
been  a  subject  of  very  grave  doubt. 

More  has  doubtless  been  said  and  written  regarding  the  Battle 
of  Shiloh  than  any  other  important  event  during  the  four  year 
contest,  yet  many  important  points  are  subjects  of  controversy, 
and  much  is  yet  unknown. 

It  is  likely  the  only  instance,  recorded  in  Modern  History,  of  so 
important  a  conflict  which  was  never  fully  reported  by  the  com 
manding  Generals  on  either  side.  General  Johnston's  death  occurred 
after  the  occurrence'  of  the  most  important  events  and  his  successor, 
General  Beauregard,  a  few  days  later  made  a  report  based  on  no 
ascertainable,  authentic  foundation,  in  which  he  stated  the  num 
ber  of  Confederates  dead  at  twenty-two  less  than  were  actually 
buried  by  Sherman's  and  McClernand's  Divisions  alone  on  the 
battle  field,  and  the  number  wounded  at  little  more  than  the 
number  of  graves  found  at  Corinth.  Holly  Springs,  Burnsville, 
Mickey's  Farm  and  along  the  way  from  Shiloh  to  Corinth,  that 
were  stated  by  Confederate  authorities  to  be  those  of  soldiers 
wounded  at  Shiloh. 

13 


With  the  possible  exception  of  General  Beauregard's  report, 
the  article  published  by  General  I).  C.  Buell  in  the  March  number 
of  the  Century  Magazine  for  1886,  entitled  "Shiloh  Reviewed," 
in  which  he  ascribes  to  the  Confederate  arms  a  greater  measure 
of  success  on  the  first  day  of  the  battle  than  has  ever  been  claimed 
by  the  most  enthusiastic  or  romantic  admirer  of  the  lost  cause,  is 
undoubtedly  the  most  misleading. 

General  Grant's  paper  on  Shiloh,  first  published  in  the  Century 
Magazine,  and  afterwards  appearing  in  his  memoirs,  was  looked 
forward  to  with  considerable  interest  in  anticipation  of  its  clear 
ing  up  many  controverted  points,  but  proved  a  disappointment 
to  his  many  friends  and  admirers  in  the  army  of  the  Tennessee, 
which  was  only  accounted  for  when  it  was  learned  that  the  article 
was  prepared  by  Colonel  Badeau  instead  of  by  General  Grant. 

On  April  10,  1862,  General  Sherman  made  an  official  report  of 
the  battle,  which  appears  in  Vol.  1  of  his  memoirs,  which  he  after 
wards  discovered  contained  so  many  errors  and  omissions  that  he 
felt  induced  to  make  a  revised  report  in  July  following,  but  by 
error  the  first  report  was  furnished  to  the  printers  of  his  memoirs, 
and  the  mistake  not  discovered  until  too  late  for  correction,  so 
he  stated  to  me  afterwards.  And  unfortunately  the  men  who 
fought  and  won  the  Battle  of  Shiloh  did  not  constitute  the  Shiloh 
Military  Park  Commission  and  make  what  might  be  termed  the 
final  report  of  the  Battle,  but  a  commission  was  formed  with 
General  Buell  at  its  head,  of  whom  General  Sherman  once  remarked 
in  my  hearing  that  he  was  surprised  that  an  officer  of  Buell 's 
rank  and  position  should  be  capable  of  perverting  important 
historical  facts  for  the  purpose  of  disparaging  General  Grant  and 
himself. 

In  General  Buell 's  anxiety  to  show  the  bad  condition  of  Grant's 
army  at  the  close  of  the  first  day's  battle,  he  distorted  the  facts 
by  showing  Jackson's  Rebel  Brigades  as  camping  that  night  on 
the  Pittsburgh  Landing  side  of  Dill's  Ravine,  fully  one  hundred 
yards  in  the  rear  or  landing  side  of  where  Ammen's  Brigade  of 
Nelson's  Division  of  his  own  army  actually  camped. 

He  also  states  that  at  the  close  of  the  first  day's  fighting,  Sher 
man's  Division  did  not  exist  except  in  the  person  of  its  commander, 
while  Sherman  insisted  that  he  had  five  thousand  good  men  in 
line  at  that  time. 

General   Grant    and   ten   thousand  other  good    men   could   bear 

14 


evidence  that  Buell's  statement  was  utterly  devoid  of  foundation 
in  fact. 

In  his  review  of  Shiloh,  (General  Buell  made  many  other  errors 
quite  as  apparent  as  these. 

The  commission  adopted  General  Beauregard's  report  of  Con 
federate  casualties,  which  according  to  Generals  Grant,  Sherman, 
McClernand  and  many  other  high  authorities,  both  Union  and 
Confederate,  represented  but  about  one-third  of  their  actual 
losses. 

THE  QUESTION  OF  SURPRISE. 

The  question  of  the  extent  to  which  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee 
was  surprised  at  Shiloh  has  always  remained  a  matter  of  dispute. 
It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  General  Grant  did  not  anticipate  an 
attact  until  it  had  actually  occurred.  In  a  dispatch  to  General 
Halleck,  from  Savanna,  on  April  5,  he  says:  fil  have  scarcely 
the  faintest  idea  of  an  attact  (general  one)  being  made  on  us, 
but  will  be  prepared  should  such  a  thing  take  place,"  also  stating 
that  General  Nelson's  Divison  had  arrived,  and  "the  other  two 
Divisions  of  General  Buell's  column  will  arrive  tomorrow  and  the 
next  day,"  that  it  was  his  purpose  to  send  them  all  to  Hamburgh, 
four  miles  above  Pittsburg  Landing  when  they  all  arrived — "from 
that  point  the  road  to  Corinth  is  good  and  a  junction  can  be  formed 
with  the  troops  from  Pittsburg  at  almost  any  point."  When 
General  Grant  was  preparing  this  dispatch  at  about  4  o'clock 
P.  M.,  J.  I).  Webster,  Colonel  of  the  1st  Illinois  Artillery,  chief 
of  General  Grant's  staff,  and  myself  were  sitting  on  the  trunk  of  a 
fallen  tree  between  Pittsburg  Landing  and  Shiloh  Church,  when 
he  told  me  in  confidence  that  one  week  from  that  morning  which 
would  be  Saturday,  April  12th,  it  was  the  intention  to  commence 
the  advance  on  Corinth. 

With  one  of  my  rifled  guns  I  could  have  easily  thrown 'a  shell 
from  where  we  were  sitting  into  the  Confederate  lines,  as  they  were 
then  formed  to  attack  us  at  daylight  the  next  morning. 

General  Grant  did  not  come  up  to  Pittsburg  Landing  Saturday, 
April  5th,  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  doing,  and  Sunday  morning 
he  was  planning  to  ride  out  on  the  Waynesboro  road  with  members 
of  his  staff  to  meet  General  Buell,  not  being  aware  that  Buell  had 
already  arrived  at  Savannah. 

While  General  Grant  and  stall'  were  at  breakfast  between  (>  and 
7  o'clock,  Kdward  X.  Trembly  of  Company  C,  1st  Illinois  Artillery, 

15 


who  was  011  duty  as  an  orderly  at  General  Grant's  headquarters, 
reported  artillery  firing  at  Pittsburg  Landing. 

Confederate  authorities  noted  the  commencement  of  the  Bat 
tle  at  5:14  A.  M.,  and  Union  officers  at  5:15,  so  that  the  fighting- 
had  been  going  on  fully  an  hour  before  General  Grant  had  the  first 
intimation  of  an  attack  at  Shiloh. 

General  Sherman's  Division  occupied  the  advanced  position  at 
Shiloh  Church,  and  it  devolved  upon  him  to  guard  the  front  of 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee.  On  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  April 
4th,  detachments  of  the  72d  Ohio  Infantry  and  5th  Ohio  Cavalry, 
as  well  as  men  and  officers  of  the  46th,  53d  and  7()th  Ohio  Regi 
ments  encountered  the  enemy  some  two  miles  in  advance  of  Gen 
eral  Sherman's  picket  lines,  and  quite  sharp  skirmishing  occurred 
with  casualties  and  capture  of  several  prisoners  on  both  sides. 
It  afterwards  transpired  that  the  detachments  of  Union  soldiers 
approached  within  600  yards  of  the  main  line  of  Hardee's  corps. 
Yet,  General  Sherman  felt  positive  that  it  was  but  a  reconnoiter- 
ing  force  of  the  enemy,  consisting  of  a  battalion  of  Cavalry,  two 
regiments  of  infantry  arid  a  battery  of  three  guns. 

The  same  day  men  from  the  53d  Ohio  discovered  strong  bodies 
of  the  enemy's  troops  in  our  front  and  reported  to  Colonel  Apler, 
who  sent  his  Quartermaster,  Lieutenant  J.  W.  Fulton,  to  inform 
General  Sherman,  who  ridiculed  the  idea  of  the  enemy  being  in 
any  considerable  force.  Saturday,  Colonel  A  pier's  men  again  found 
large  bodies  of  Confederate  troops  in  front  of  our  lines  and  reported 
to  their  Colonel,  who  reported  the  fact  to  Colonel  Hildebrand, 
commanding  brigade,  who  reported  in  person  to  General  Sherman, 
who  then  directed  him  to  send  out  a  regiment  at  daylight  the  next 
morning  to  reconnoiter  the  front;  but  they  had  just  started  when 
they  wrere  fired  into  at  the  commencement  of  the  battle.  Colonel 
Apler  was  up  all  night,  and  before  daylight  Sunday  morning  notified 
each  of  his  Captains  to  be  prepared  for  an  attack. 

Men  from  McClernand's,  Prentice's,  W.  H.  L.  Wallace's  and 
Hurlbut's  Divisions  had  discovered  the  enemy  in  large  numbers 
both  Friday  and  Saturday. 

General  J.  B.  McPherson,  who  was  Colonel  of  Engineers  on 
General  Grant's  staff,  at  the  Battle  of  Shiloh,  and  was  staying 
with  W.  H.  L.  Wallace  at  Shiloh  instead  of  with  General  Grant  at 
Savannah,  states  in  his  report,  as  shown  on  Page  181,  Vol.  10, 
Records  of  the  Rebellion:  "It  was  well  known  the  enemy  was 
approaching  our  lines,  and  there  had  been  more  or  less  skirmishing 

16 


for  three  days  preceding  the  battle."  When  the  attack  in  force 
was  made  on  Sunday  morning,  General  Sherman  went  a  staff  officer 
to  notify  General  McClernand  and  ask  him  to  support  the  left  of 
his  (Sherman's)  Division.  The  officer  met  three  regiments  on  the 
way  to  the  front  line  of  battle. 

One  of  the  highest  Confederate  authorities,  Colonel  William 
Preston  Johnston,  says  that,  "Saturday  afternoon  a  council  of 
war  was  being  held,  etc.,  the  Confederate  Army  was  in  full  battle 
array,  within  two  miles  of  Shiloh  Church  and  Grant's  lines." 

"Generals  Grant  and  Sherman  seemed  firm  in  their  conviction 
that  the  enemy  would  not  leave  his  base  of  supplies  at  Corinth  and 
come  to  attack  us  at  Shiloh,  they  being  almost  the  only  exceptions 
on  the  part  of  both  officers  and  men  throughout  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  to  the  impression  that  we  were  about  to  be  attacked 
by  the  enemy  in  force." 

CONFEDERATE  ORDER  OF  BATTLE. 

That  General  Johnston  committed  a  most  fatal  error  in  per 
mitting  General  Beauregard  to  change  the  order  of  battle  in  form 
ing  the  three  corps  of  Hardee,  Bragg  and  Polk  in  three  parallel 
lines  instead  of  forming  each  corps  in  column  of  divisions,  with 
Hardee  on  the  right,  Bragg  in  the  center  and  Polk  on  the  left, 
with  Breckenridge  in  reserve,  as  General  Johnston  had  planned, 
cannot  be  doubted. 

The  efficiency  of  the  Confederate  forces  was  very  materially 
reduced  by  this  error  of  formation,  especially  with  the  lack  of 
cordiality  existing  between  the  corps  commanders. 

Karly  in  the  engagement  when  the  second  and  third  lines  closed 
on  and  mingled  with  the  first,  and  strange  troops  and  commanders 
became  mingled  in  one  line,  it  caused  lack  of  harmony,  co-operation 
and  efficiency. 

THE  FURIOUS  ATTACK. 

The  Confederate  officers  and  soldiers  held  General  Johnston  in 
high  esteem  and  had  great  confidence  in  his  ability,  and  his  presence 
and  utterance  inspired  all  with  great  enthusiasm.  As  the  attack 
was  about  to  be  commenced,  he  said  to  his  staff  officers:  "Tonight 
we  will  water  our  horses  in  the  Tennessee  River;"  to  Randall 
L.  Gibson,  commanding  a  Louisiana  Brigade:  "IIY  nntxl  icin  <i 
victory;"  to  Marmaduke,  who  had  served  under  him  in  I'tah: 
"My  .so//,  ire  ///,//N/  llnx  day  cotHjiicr  or  pcrt'xlt.;"  to  the  fiery  Hindman 

17 


"You  have  earned  your  spurs  as  a  Major  General;  let  this  day's 
work  win  them."  By  these  methods  he  fired  his  troops  with 
enthusiasm  and  hurled  them  like  an  avalanche  against  our  lines. 
The  second  line  closed  on  the  first  as  soon  as  they  were  well 
under  fire,  and  the  third  line  under  Pope  less  than  half  an  hour 
later.  The  Union  lines  not  yielding,  Trabue's  Brigade  of  Brecken- 
ridge's  reserves  was  brought  into  action,  and  finally  the  last  two 
reserve  brigades  were  being  brought  forward  at  9  o'clock  when 
the  right  of  Prentice's  Division  gave  way.  The  Confederate  forces 
thus  massed,  pressed  forward  in  the  most  reckless  manner,  under 
a  terrible  fire  of  both  infantry  and  artillery  from  which  they  suffered 
fearful  losses.  The  stubborn  resistance  they  encountered  is  self- 
evident  from  the  fact  of  their  being  compelled  to  bring  their  reserves 
into  action  so  early  in  the  engagement.  That  the  comparatively 
raw  troops  under  Sherman  and  Prentice  should  be  able  to  hold 
their  entire  line  from  5:15  to  9  o'clock,  and  most  of  it  until  10  A.  ^1., 
against  this  fearful  assault  of  vastly  superior  numbers,  and  inflict 
on  them  losses  more  than  double  their  own,  and  give  them  a  stag 
gering  blow,  from  which  they  never  recovered,  seems  incredible 
and  in  such  marked  contrast  with  the  generally  conceived  idea 
that  our  lines  gave  away  at  almost  the  first  fire  of  the  enemy. 

In  the  camps  of  the  Union  troops,  which  the  Rebels  got  pos 
session  of  when  the  first,  or  Shiloh  Church  line  gave  way,  were 
several  large  Sutler's  stores,  containing  considerable  quantities  of 
wines  and  bottled  liquors,  and  some  of  the  commissaries  had  several 
barrels  of  whisky  among  their  stores;  and  although  the  Confederate 
troops  had  been  ordered  to  take  five  days'  rations  when  they  left 
Corinth  on  the  3d,  the  morning  of  the  6th  found  them  out  of 
rations,  hungry  and  weary  from  marching  and  want  of  sleep,  and 
when  they  came  into  the  Union  camps  and  got  possession  of  these 
stores  and  liquors,  they  broke  away  from  all  control  of  their  officers, 
and  great  numbers  became  so  demoralized  that  they  were  not  again 
available  for  service  during  the  battle. 

This  unforseen  event  so  demoralized  the  Confederate  forces,  on 
this  portion  of  the  field,  that  they  were  not  able  to  follow  up  the 
advantage  of  having  broken  our  first  lines. 

The  next  aggressive  movement  of  the  enemy  was  by  a  heavy 
column  attacking  our  extreme  right  in  the  vicinity  of  Owl  Creek, 
at  about  11  o'clock,  which  was  handsomely  repulsed  by  McCler- 
nand  and  Sherman  by  12:30  P.  M.,  with  severe  loss  to  the  enemy. 

Bou  ton's  Battery  was  credited  bv  General  Sherman  \\ith  ren- 

18 


dering  efficient  and  conspicuous  service  in  repulsing  this  column, 
they  having  gone  from  their  position  on  the  Purely  Road  (where 
with  the  loth  and  10th  Iowa  Infantry  they  had  formed  a  reserve 
or  supporting  line)  at  the  suggestion  of  Major  Taylor,  General 
Sherman's  Chief  of  Artillery,  to  the  extreme  right  of  the  Union 
lines,  and  from  a  commanding  position  were  able  to  shell  the 
enemy's  column  as  it  advanced  on  McClernand's  right,  very  effec 
tually. 

At  about  2  P.  M.,  the  enemy  gathered  most  of  his  available 
force  for  a  final  supreme  effort  to  crush  and  turn  our  left  and 
capture  the  landing.  This  line  extended  from  a  little  to  the  left 
of  the  Corinth  road  to  the  Tennessee  River. 

I  can  hardly  better  describe  this  sanguinary  conflict  than  to 
quote  the  language  of  Colonel  William  Preston  Johnston,  son  of 
the  Confederate  Commander-in-chief,  in  which  he  says:  "On  the 
Federal  left  center  W.  H.  L.  Wallace  and  Hurlbut  were  massed  with 
Prentice's  fragments  in  a  position  so  impregnable,  and  thronged 
with  such  fierce  defenders  that  it  won  from  the  Confederates  the 
memorable  title  of  the  "Hornet's  Nest."  Here  behind  a  dense 
thicket  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  was  posted  a  strong  force  of  as  hardy 
troops  as  ever  fought,  almost  perfectly  protected  by  the  conforma 
tion  of  the  ground,  and  by  logs  and  other  rude  and  hastily  prepared 
defenses.  To  assail  it,  an  open  field  had  to  be  passed  enfiladed  by 
the  fire  of  its  batteries.  No  figure  of  speech  would  be  too  strong 
to  express  the  deadly  peril  of  assualt  upon  this  natural  fortress. 
For  five  hours,  brigade  after  brigade  was  led  against  it.  Hind- 
man's  Brigades  which  earlier  had  swept  everything  before  them, 
were  reduced  to  fragments  and  paralyzed  for  the  remainder  of 
the  day. 

"A.  P.  Stewart's  regiments  made  fruitless  assualts;  then  Bragg 
ordered  up  Gibson's  Brigade,  Gibson  himself,  a  knightly  soldier, 
was  aided  by  Colonels,  three  of  whom  afterwards  became  Generals. 
The  brigade  made  a  gallant  charge,  but  like  the  others  recoiled 
from  the  fire  it  encountered;  under  a  cross  fire  of  artillery  and 
musketry,  it  at  last  fell  back  with  very  heavy  loss.  Gibson  asked 
for  artillery  to  be  sent  him,  but  it  was  not  at  hand,  and  Bragg 
sent  orders  to  charge  again.  The  Colonels  thought  it  hopeless, 
but  Gibson  led  them  again  to  the  attack,  and  again  they  suffered 
a  bloody  repulse."  Gibson  reported  making  four  charges  and  losing, 
approximately,  one-third  of  his  command, 

I1) 


On  this  portion  of  the  field  between  4  and  5  P.  M.,  General 
Prentice,  with  some  2200  of  his  command,  surrendered,  as  some 
claimed  without  adequate  necessity. 

DEATH   OF  GEN.  ALBERT  SYDNEY  JOHNSTON. 

General  Johnston,  rendered  almost  frantic  by  the  repulse  of 
his  troops  at  all  points,  and  realizing  that  defeat  was  inevitable, 
as  a  last  desperate  effort,  led  Statham's  Brigade,  which  consti 
tuted  the  last  reserves  of  his  command  in  a  fruitless  charge  against 
the  left  of  Hurlbut's  Division,  in  which  they  were  repulsed  with 
heavy  loss,  General  Johnston  receiving  a  wound  which  caused 
his  death.  This  Brigade  was  composed  of  four  Tennessee  and  two 
Mississippi  Regiments;  they  had  already  suffered  so  severely  and 
their  cause  seemed  so  hopeless  that  they  refused  to  make  another 
charge  until  Isham  G.  Harris,  Governor  of  Tennessee,  who  was 
serving  as  a  volunteer  aid  on  General  Johnston's  staff,  appealed 
to  them  and  promised  that  General  Johnston  would  lead  them, 
when  they  consented  to  try  again. 

The  Commander-in-chief  of  all  the  Confederate  forces  and  terri 
tory  west  of  the  Alleghanies  must  have  been  in  desperate  straits 
indeed,  to  induce  him  to  lead  a  charge  of  a  single  brigade,  when  he 
had  a  second  in  command,  four  corps  commanders,  four  division 
commanders,  and  sixteen  brigade  commanders  present  on  the  field. 

His  wound  was  not  necessarily  of  a  serious  nature;  a  minnie 
ball  severed  a  small  artery  in  the  calf  of  his  leg.  His  son,  William 
Preston  Johnston,  says:  "His  wound  was  not  necessarily  fatal. 
His  own  knowledge  of  military  surgery  was  adequate  for  its  control 
by  an  extemporized  tourniquet,  had  he  been  aware  or  regardful 
of  its  nature." 

How  many  soldiers  have  staunched  a  much  worse  wound  by 
tying  a  handkerchief  or  cord  around  a  wounded  arm  or  limb  and 
twisting  it  with  a  ramrod  or  stick.  General  Johnston  fought  the 
Battle  of  Shiloh  in  sheer  desperation.  The  loss  of  Belmont,  Colum 
bus,  Mill  Spring,  Henry,  Donaldson  and  Xashville,  resulting  in 
the  loss  to  the  Confederacy  of  the  States  of  Kentucky  and  Ten 
nessee,  had  caused  him  to  be  severely  censured,  and  his  removal 
from  command  had  been  repeatedly  recommended  and  strongly 
urged,  which  had  rendered  his  position  simply  unendurable  to  one 
of  his  proud  nature.  Beauregard  had  advised  against  fighting  the 
battle  before  leaving  Corinth,  airain  at  a  Council  of  War,  held  two 


miles  in  front  of  our  linos  at  2  o'clock  P.  M.  on  Saturday,  the  oth 
of  April,  again  that  evening,  and  finally  the  next  day  when  the 
firing  actually  commenced. 

Regarding  this  matter,  Colonel  Johnston  says  in  his  Century 
article:  "It  will  readily  be  perceived  how  much  General  Beaure- 
gard's  urgent  opposition  to  fighting  must  have  added  to  the 
weight  of  General  Johnston's  responsibility.  Beauregard  was  in 
the  full  tide  of  popular  favor,  while  Johnston  was  laboring  under 
the  load  of  public  obloquy  and  odium.  Nothing  short  of  complete 
and  overwhelming  victory  would  vindicate  him  in  differing  with 
so  famous  a  General.  A  reverse,  even  a  merely  partial  success, 
would  leave  him  under  condemnation." 

He  had  stated  that  he  must  win  a  victory  to  vindicate  himself, 
as  well  as  for  the  Confederacy.  After  the  battle  had  commenced, 
he  said  repeatedly  and  emphatically:  "We  must  wan  a  victory.77 

Under  all  the  circumstances,  is  it  not  a  natural  inference  that  he 
looked  upon  death  as  a  welcome  relief,  and  that  his  death  was  to  a 
certain  extent  a  voluntary  act? 

After  General  Forest  surrendered  at  Memphis  in  1865,  he 
stated  in  the  presence  of  General  Washburn  and  myself  that  before 
the  battle,  General  Johnston  said  that  he  would  not  survive  a 
defeat  at  Shiloh,  and  Forest  expressed  the  opinion  that  General 
Johnston  need  not  have  perished  from  his  wound  had  he  not  chosen 
to  do  so. 

General  Johnston  was  a  man  of  undoubted  ability;  he  was 
loved  and  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him,  few  commanders 
could  inspire  their  troops  with  such  zeal  and  confiden  ce  under  ad 
verse  circumstances  as  he. 

It  seems  not  an  unnatural  conclusion  that  the  loss  of  the  Battle 
of  Shiloh  caused  the  death  of  General  Albert  Sydney  Johnston,  in 
stead  of,  as  frequently  claimed,  that  the  death  of  Johnston  caused 
the  loss  of  the  battle. 

THE  GREAT  ARTILLERY  DUEL  AND 
BOUTON'S  BATTERY. 

Bouton's  Battery  having  been  credited  with  taking  so  impor 
tant  a  part  in  the  Battle  of  Shiloh,  a  more  detailed  report  of  its 
operations  seems  justified  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case  with 
so  comparatively  insignificant  a  command. 

At  a  little  after  2  P.  M.,  Bout  on 's  Battery  had  moved  from  the 
extreme  right  of  McClernand's  Division  back  towards  the  left 

21 


and  taken  a  commanding  position  about  a  thousand  yards  in 
front  of  the  Landing  and  a  little  to  the  left  of  the  Corinth  Road, 
the  ground  in  front  sloping  down  towards  the  head  of  Dill's  Ravine. 
In  this  position  about  3:20  P.  M.  they  became  engaged  with  a 
Rebel  Battery  of  6  six-pounder  guns  across  Dill's  Ravine,  which  was 
the  commencement  of  what  was  termed  the  "Great  Artillery  Duel/' 
which  lasted  until  after  sundown,  being  some  time  after  fighting 
had  ceased  on  the  rest  of  the  field.  This  event  was  well  described 
in  the  Chicago  papers  at  the  time  as  follows : 

"At  about  3  P.  M.,  the  Union  forces  were  compelled  to  retire 
from  a  timbered  ridge  about  a  third  of  a  mile  out  from  Pittsburg 
Landing.  Some  800  yards  in  front  of  this  ridge  was  the  green 
point  where  the  Hamburgh  and  Purdy  Roads  formed  a  junction. 
Here  wras  concentrated  a  large  Confederate  force.  When  the 
Union  forces  fell  back  from  this  ridge,  Bouton's  Battery,  having 
a  commanding  position,  held  its  ground  and  a  detachment  of  the 
53d  Ohio  Infantry  remained  in  supporting  distance  in  the  rear. 

"If  the  Confederates  gained  the  ridge  their  guns  could  sweep 
the  Landing  and  intervening  space.  The  fate  of  the  Union  Army 
centered  on  this  ridge  being  held  until  night,  or  until  Buell  came. 

"A  Rebel  Battery  of  6  six-pounder  guns  took  position  well  in 
front  and  opened  fire  at  about  600  yards  distant  on  Bouton's  left 
front,  which  was  promptly  answered.  All  other  firing  in  the  vicini 
ty  seemed  for  the  time  suspended,  and  interest  centered  in  the 
result  between  the  two  opposing  batteries.  After  the  thundering 
combat  had  raged  hot  and  furious  for  half  an  hour,  a  Mississippi 
Battery  of  four  12-pounder  howitzers  took  position  and  opened 
fire  on  Bouton's  right  front  at  short  range,  thus  bringing  him  under 
a  heavy  cross  fire.  Bouton  then  wheeled  his  right  section  of  two 
guns  under  First  Lieutenant  Harry  Rogers,  and  brought  it  to 
bear  on  the  Mississippi  Battery  and  answered  their  fire  shot  for 
shot. 

"Both  batteries  failing  to  drive  him  from  the  ridge,  Jackson's 
Brigade  of  Mississippi  Infantry  charged  his  battery  in  front,  ad 
vancing  between  the  two  batteries  on  the  right  and  left  as  before 
stated.  This  charge  was  met  with  guns  double  shotted  with  can 
ister,  which  sent  them  back  in  broken  disorder.  The  fight  between 
the  batteries  went  on  until  the  approach  of  night,  just  as  Bouton 
fired  his  last  round  of  ammunition.  Then  he  fell  back  to  the  main 
line  in  front  of  the  Landing,  taking  off  two  guns  (one  disabled) 
by  hand  with  the  aid  of  men  from  the  53d  Ohio,  the  horses  on  these 

23 


being  all  killed.  Bouton's  Battery  had  been  reported  cap 
tured  some  two  hours  before,  and  when  he  turned  up  all  right, 
and  it  was  ascertained  that  he  had  successfully  held  the  ridge 
against  such  fearful  odds,  such  a  cheer  of  triumph  was  given  as 
made  the  welkin  ring.  It  meant  victory  for  the  morrow. 

"The  next  day  with  five  guns  re-supplied  with  ammunition, 
Bouton's  Battery  made  a  dash  across  an  old  cotton  field,  under 
a  terrific  fire  of  both  infantry  and  artillery  and  occupied  and  held 
a  position  from  which  two  batteries  had  been  successfully  driven, 
and  with  canister  at  short  range  materially  aided  in  driving  Breck- 
enridge  from  nearly  the  same  ground  occupied  by  Sherman's 
Division  at  the  commencement  of  the  battle." 

Just  as  the  Brigade  of  Infantry  was  about  to  charge  the  battery, 
Major  Hammond,  General  Sherman's  Adjutant  General,  rode 
hastily  up  to  Captain  Bouton  and  told  him  to  take  his  battery 
to  the  rear  and  save  it  while  he  could,  or  it  would  be  captured  in 
ten  minutes.  As  the  battery  did  not  follow  him  to  the  rear  he 
supposed  it  had  been  captured  and  so  reported.  In  front  of  the 
Landing  there  was  a  gap  in  the  Union  lines  of  some  two  thousand 
yards,  Sherman  and  McClernand  on  the  right,  with  Hurlbut, 
W.  H.  L.  Wallace  and  fragments  of  Prentice's  Division  on  the  left. 
This  was  the  key  to  the  situation,  and  was  held  by  Bouton's 
Battery  and  some  small  detachments  of  infantry,  the  principal 
one  belonging  to  the  53d  Ohio,  which  is  entitled  to  great  credit 
for  assisting  in  holding  this  important  position.  Had  Major  Ham 
mond's  suggestion  been  heeded  and  the  battery  withdrawn,  the 
enemy  would  have  attained  the  ridge  and  his  guns  could  sweep 
the  Landing,  enabling  him  to  easily  capture  the  Union  transports 
and  stores  and  prevent  Buell's  command  from  crossing  the  river, 
as  well  as  to  flank  Hurlbut  and  W.  H.  L.  Wallace  on  the  right  and 
Sherman  and  McClernand  on  the  left,  thereby  placing  the  Union 
Army  at  the  close  of  the  first  day  in  about  as  disastrous  a  condition 
as  that  described  by  General  Buell.  General  Bragg  seemed  fully 
aware  of  the  weakness  of  the  Union  lines  at  this  point  and  of  its 
importance,  as  he  directed  continuous  efforts  for  its  capture  for 
some  two  hours  after  fighting  had  ceased  on  the  rest  of  the  field. 

In  the  Artillery  Duel,  Bouton's  Battery  fired  540  rounds  of 
ammunition,  being  more  than  reported  by  any  other  Union  Bat 
tery  during  the  entire  battle.  This  Battery  expending  during 
the  two  days  fighting  1370  rounds,  the  next  highest  number 
reported  was  by  Washington  Artillery  No.  5,  of  New  Orleans, 

24 


with  which  Bouton's  Battery  was  for  some  time  engaged,  723 
rounds;  theirs  were  mostly  6-pound  projectiles,  while  Bouton's 
James  Rifles  threw  14-pound  projectiles.  General  Halleck  stated 
that  in  his  opinion  1000  men  saved  the  day  at  Shiloh,  most  con 
spicuous  in  the  number  was  Bouton's  Battery  of  Chicago. 

NOTE: — The  late  Superior  Judge  Fitzgerald    was  a  member    of   Jackson's    Brigade,    and   stated 
that   the  foregoing  description  of  the  great  artillery  duel  is  substantially  correct. 

CONFEDERATE  TESTIMONY. 

In  speaking  of  the  position  of  Bouton's  Battery,  on  the  ridge 
or  knoll,  Sunday  afternoon,  Colonel  8.  H.  Lockett,  Chief  Engineer 
on  General  Bragg's  staff,  says:  "In  our  front  only  one  single  point 
was  showing  fight,  a  hill  crowned  with  Artillery.  I  was  with 
General  Bragg  and  rode  with  him  along  the  front  of  this  corps.  I 
heard  him  say  over  and  over  again,  'One  more  charge,  my  men^ 
and  we  will  capture  them  all."' 

Colonel  Alexander  Robert  Chrisholm,  Aid-de-camp  on  General 
Beauregard's  staff,  referring  to  the  same  matter  says:  "Possibly 
had  Colonel  Johnston  (meaning  Colonel  William  Preston  Johnston ) 
been  present  on  the  field  at  that  last  hour  of  the  battle  of  the  6th, 
a  witness  of  the  actual  fruitless  efforts  made  to  storm  the  last 
position  held  by  the  enemy,  on  the  ridge  covering  the  landing 
known  as  Pittsburg,  he  might  be  better  informed  as  to  why  it 
was  that  the  position  wras  not  carried  and  be  less  disposed  to 
adduce  such  testimony  as  that  of  General  Bragg  to  the  effct  that 
but  for  the  order  given  by  Beauregard  to  withdraw  from  action, 
he  would  have  carried  all  before  him." 

In  reference  to  Bouton's  Battery  in  front  of  the  Landing  Sunday 
night,  General  Grant  in  his  report  of  April  9,  1862,  as  published 
on  Page  109,  Vol.  10,  Records  of  the  Rebellion,  says:  "At  a  late 
hour  in  the  afternoon  a  desperate  effort  was  made  by  the  enemy 
to  turn  our  left  and  get  possession  of  the  landing,  transports,  etc. 
This  point  was  guarded  by  the  gun-boats,  Tyler  and  Lexington, 
Captains  Ginn  and  Shirk  commanding,  four  twenty-pounder 
Parrott  guns  and  a  battery  ot  rifle  guns,  etc.,  etc."  The  Parrots 
were  Silverspar's  and  General  Grant  was  not  then  aware  that 
their  only  firing  had  been  for  drill  and  practice. 

It  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  the  enemy  were  checked  Sunday 
night  in  front  of  the  Landing  by  Bouton's  Battery,  supported 
by  only  about  150  men  of  the  53d  Ohio  Infantry,  some  15  men  of 
the  46th  Ohio,  and  some  8  or  10  of  the  6th  Iowa. 

25 


The  Rebel  four-gun  battery  with  which  Boutoifs  fought  the 
great  artillery  duel  was  so  disabled  that  three  of  their  guns  were 
easily  captured  by  McClernand's  Division  the  next  morning,  and 
the  six-gun  battery  left  five  of  their  guns  on  the  field,  which  were 
taken  possession  of  by  Nelson's  Division,  next  morinng,  their 
horses  being  practically  all  killed. 

On  the  second  day  after  the  encounter  with  Breckenridge's 
forces  previously  mentioned,  an  officer  on  General  McCook's  staff 
requested  Bouton's  Battery  to  go  over  to  their  assistance  on  the 
left,  stating  that  McCook  had  left  his  artillery  in  crossing  the  river 
and  that  there  was  a  battery  in  his  front  doing  much  harm.  It- 
was  an  Alabama  Battery  of  6  six-pounders,  wThich  Bouton's 
Battery  encountered  at  short  range,  with  a  flank  fire  of  canister, 
which  soon  silenced  them,  and  killing  so  many  ot  their  horses 
that  they  did  not  save  a  gun  and  were  easily  captured  by  McCook's 
Division,  Bouton's  Battery  not  losing  a  man  or  a  horse  in  this  en 
counter. 

The  members  of  Bouton's  Battery  deemed  this  an  easy  task, 
but  felt  quite  elated  on  learning  that  one  of  Buell's  Regular  bat 
teries  had  been  compelled  to  abandon  this  position. 

General  Buell  in  his  report,  as  shown  on  Page  294,  Vol.  10, 
Records  of  the  Rebellion,  speaking  of  the  matter,  says:  "Captain 
Terrill,  who  in  the  meantime  had  taken  an  advanced  position,  was 
compelled  to  retire,  leaving  one  caisson,  in  wrhich  every  horse  was 
ki  led  or  disabled." 

General  Bue  1  reported  capturing  20  guns  at  Shiloh.  He  omitted 
to  state,  however,  that  eleven  of  them  had  been  rendered  helpless 
and  harmless  by  Bouton's  Battery. 

In  speaking  of  Bouton's  Battery,  serving  with  McCook's  Division 
the  second  day,  General  Gibson,  then  Colonel  commanding  the 
Sixth  Brigade,  says  in  his  report,  dated  Shiloh,  April  10,  1862: 
"Captain  Bout  on,  with  his  Chicago  Battery,  reached  the  ground  at 
this  juncture,  and  after  silencing  the  enemy's  battery,  which  had 
been  annoying  my  left,  moved  quickly  to  the  left  of  the  Fifteenth 
Ohio  and  opened  on  the  batteries,  which  had  up  to  that  time, 
harassed  that  regiment  and  the  Thirty-ninth  Indiana.  The 
enemy's  guns  were  quickly  silenced  and  Captain  Bouton  has  my 
warmest  thanks  for  the  aid  so  skillfully  and  gallantly  rendered." 

General  Grant  reported  that  200  artillery  horses  were  killed 
in  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  at  Shiloh,  54  of  this  number  were 
killed  in  Bouton's  Battery. 

26 


Boutoii's  Buttery  was  not  assigned  to  any  Division,  1ml  fought 
on  its  own  hook  at  Shiloh,  serving  with  Sherman,  Prentice,  McCler- 
nand  and  Hurlbut  the  first  day,  and  Sherman,  McClernand  and 
McCook  the  second  day;  yet  its  action  was  not  reported  by  an}' 
Division  Commander,  but  was  mentioned  incidentally  by  all  of 
them. 

LOSS  IN   BUELL'S  ARMY,  APRIL  6th. 

A  little  before  sundown  on  the  evening  of  the  6th,  just  as 
Jackson's  Brigade  was  about  to  charge  Bouton's  Battery,  Ammen's 
Brigade  of  Nelson's  Division  of  Buell's  Army  came  on  the  field 
and  took  position  to  the  rear  and  left  of  the  battery.  Here  Cap 
tain  Garcich  of  the  36th  Indiana  Infantry,  which  was  on  the  right 
of  Ammen's  Brigade,  was  killed  by  a  shell  from  the  battery  on 
Bouton's  right  front,  and  when  Jackson's  Brigade  charged  the 
battery  one  soldier  was  killed  and  one  wounded  in  the  same  regi 
ment,  and  these  constitute  the  total  loss  in  BuelVs  army  at  Shiloh 
that  day. 

WEBSTER'S  HEAVY  ARTILLERY. 

During  the  day,  Sunday  the  6th,  Colonel  J.  I).  Webster,  Chief 
of  General  Grant's  staff,  built  a  line  of  breastworks  of  logs  and 
dirt  from  the  river  in  a  semi-circle  around  across  the  Corinth 
Road,  some  200  yards  out  from  the  Landing,  and  placed  some 
sixteen  old  heavy  iron  siege  guns  behind  it,  that  were  imperfectly 
equipped  and  never  manned  except  by  some  incomplete  details 
of  undrilled  men  gathered  from  the  skulkers  at  the  Landing. 
The  guns  had  no  platforms  and  the  ground  was  so  wet  and  soft 
that  if  these  guns  had  been  fired  once  their  ponderous  weight 
would  have  sunk  them  to  the  axle-tree  with  the  recoil,  and  they 
could  never  have  been  fired  a  second  time.  Captain  Silverspar's 
Battery  consisting  of  four  twenty-pounder  Parrot t  guns  had  just 
arrived  without  horses.  Colonel  Webster  placed  these  guns  behind 
the  left  of  the  line  of  breastworks  next  to  the  river.  During  the 
afternoon  Captain  Silverspar,  desiring  to  drill  and  practice  his 
men  in  firing,  Colonel  Webster  allowed  him  to  fire  some  twelve 
to  sixteen  shells  with  guns  at  a  high  elevation,  and  turned  well 
to  the  left  so  as  to  clear  our  men  in  front,  and  these  were  the  only 
artillery  shots  fired  from  the  Landing  during  the  battle. 

When  Adjutant  General  J.  A.  Rawlins  and  Colonel  McPherson 
left   Pittsburg  Landing    by  direction  of  General  Grant,  at  about 

27 


2  P.  M.,  to  go  and  find  Lew  Wallace  and  try  to  hurry  him  up  with 
his  Division,  Colonel  Webster  was  just  getting  his  heavy jjguns 
up  the  bluff.  There  was  no  other  artillery  near  the  Landing 
except  Silverspar's  Parrotts.  On  returning  near  sundown,  just 
before  crossing  Snake  Creek,  General  Rawlins  says  in  his  report, 
as  published  on  Page  187,  Vol.  10,  Records  of  the  Rebellion: 
"About  this  time  the  artillery  firing  at  Pittsburg  Landing  became 
terrific,  and  we  who  had  been  there  knew  that  it  was  our 
heavy  guns,  and  that  the  enemy  had  attained  a  nearness  to  the 
river  that  filled  our  minds  with  terrible  apprehensions  of  the 
fate  of  the  brave  army  that  had  been  fighting  against  such  fearful 
odds  and  without  intermission  from  early  morning."  When 
General  Rawlins  arrived  on  the  field  at  dark,  he  met  some  North 
ern  newspaper  men  at  General  McClernand's  Headquarters,  and 
told  them  of  the  enemy's  being  checked  at  the  landing  by  Web 
ster's  line  of  heavy  artillery,  and  so  the  report  went  abroad,  and 
has  remained  uncontro verted  to  this  day  so  far  as  1  am  aware. 
This  was  at  the  time  Bouton's  Battery  was  having  its  hottest 
fight  with  the  two  Rebel  Batteries,  and  it  was  a  very  natural  mis 
take  for  General  Rawlins  to  make. 

The  fact  is  Colonel  Webster's  siege  guns  never  fired  a  shot. 
Neither  General  Grant  or  Colonel  Webster  ever  claimed  that  they 
did,  and  there  was  never  a  Rebel  in  sight  of  them  except  as  a 
prisoner  of  war  during  the  battle. 

That  night  at  dark,  when  we  fell  back  to  the  Landing,  Colonel 
Webster  showed  me  his  line  of  breastworks,  and  stated  that  he 
did  not  expect  much  from  the  old  siege  guns,  but  thought  they 
would  have  a  good  moral  effect  on  our  raw  troops,  and  that  the 
breastworks  would  be  available  were  we  compelled  to  fall  back 
to  that  point. 

NOTE:— Since  the  close  of  the  war,  both  General  Sherman  and  General  J.  D.  Webster  have 
expressed  the  opinion  that  statement  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  front  of  the  Landing  at  the  close 
of  the  first  day's  battle  as  contained  in  this  paper  was  substantially  correct. 

EFFECTIVE    STRENGTH    OF    THE 
CONTENDING  FORCES. 

General  Bragg  reported  the  strength  of  the  Confederate  forces 
that  marched  from  Corinth  on  April  3d,  as  aggregate  present 
49^444,  with  effective  present  for  duty  38,773.  The  6th  Kentucky, 
Wharton's  Texas  Rangers,  Clanton's  Regiment,  McClerg's  Battery, 
Hill's  Tennessee  Regiment,  1st  Mississippi  Cavalry,  Brewer's 

28 


Battalion,  Cox's  Battalion,  Jenkin's  Battalion,  Lindsay's  Battalion, 
Robin's  Battalion,  Tomlin's  Cavalry,  Orleans  Guard  Battalion, 
Colonel  Bates'  2d  Tennessee  Infantry,  (there  being  two  2d  regi 
ments  of  Tennessee  Infantry,  one  in  Hardee's  Corps,  and  one  in 
Folk's  Corps),  and  Georgia  Dragoons,  also  a  regiment  from  Arkan 
sas,  that  were  reported  to  have  joined  the  Confederate  forces  after 
leaving  Corinth,  were  not  included  in  the  report  from  which  General 
Bragg  obtained  his  aggregate  strength.  These  Regiments,  Battal 
ions  and  Battery  were  estimated  to  number  6,400  effective. 

Influenced  by  the  appeals  of  Generals  Johnston  and  Beaure- 
gard  and  the  Govenors  of  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Georgia 
and  Louisiana,  many  men  had  joined  their  friends  and  neighbors 
in  the  Confederate  Regiments  without  being  mustered  or  borne 
on  the  rolls,  and  were  not  uniformed  and  were  only  armed  with 
shotguns,  hunting  rifles  and  old  Harper's  Ferry  muskets  that  had 
seen  service  in  the  Mexican  War. 

General  McClernand  claimed  that  the  Confederates  had  fully 
oo,000  at  the  commencement  of  the  battle,  and  received  consid- 
able  re-enforcements  afterwards;  so  that  it  is  certain  that  Beaure- 
gard's  statement  of  45,000  effective  force  was  likely  to  be  under 
rather  than  over  the  actual  strength.  Various  Confederate  offi 
cers  made  statements  of  their  strength  at  Shiloh,  but  no  two  alike. 

The  five  Divisions  of  General  Grant's  Army  that  participated 
in  the  battle  of  the  6th  showed  a  total  aggregate  present  according 
to  the  returns  of  April  4th  and  5th  of  37,328. 

General  Sherman  estimated  the  effective  strength  at  32,000, 
and  General  Grant  at  33,000;  including  some  unassigned  troops. 
33,000  was  undoubtedly  a  safe  estimate. 

Of  this  force  General  Sherman  estimated  that  18,000  were  lit 
For  duty  the  next  day,  and  General  Grant  placed  the  number  at 
17,000.  As  many  of  the  men  who  had  become  demoralized  early 
in  the  day  on  the  6th,  had  recovered  from  their  panic  during  the 
night  and  rejoined  their  commands,  General  Sherman's  estimate 
of  18,000  was  undoubtedly  the  more  nearly  correct  one. 

If  there  was  demoralization  among  the  Union  forces  the  first 
day,  it  was  still  greater  in  the  Confederate  ranks.  The  2d  Arkan 
sas  was  reported  by  Confederate  officers  to  have  become  demoral 
ized  before  they  had  hardly  fired  a  volley.  Their  losses  in  killed, 
wounded,  missing  and  stragglers  were  much  greater  than  ours, 
as  no  Confederate  authority  placed  their  loss  the  first  day  at  less 
than  half  their  force.  General  Beauregard  states  in  his  report  of 

29 


April  11,  as  shown  on  Page  391,  Vol.  10,  Records  of  the  Rebellion, 
that  on  Monday  not  20, 000  men  could  he  brought  into  action. 
The  Confederate  losses  from  all  sources  the  first  day  being  25,000. 
or  58  per  cent,  of  their  entire  strength,  while  the  loss  by  the  Army 
of  the  Tennessee  was  15,000,  equal  to  45  per  cent,  of  their  numbers. 

During  the  night  of  the  6th,  General  Grant's  forces  had  been 
supplied  with  ammunition  and  rations,  had  recovered  from  their 
panic  and  demoralization  and  reformed  their  lines,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  7th,  were  in  much  better  condition  than  they  had 
been  before  during  the  battle,  and  had  neither  Wallace  nor  Buell 
arrived,  would  have  gained  a  complete  victory.  Although  there 
was  hard  fighting  on  the  7th,  the  Confederates  were  fighting  to 
get  away,  and  if  allowed  to  do  so  would  have  undoubtedly  retired 
without  firing  a  gun. 

General  Bragg  in  his  report  of  April  3()th,  says  of  the  fighting 
on  the  second  day:  "Our  troops  exhausted  by  days  of  incessant 
fatigue,  hunger  and  want  of  rest,  and  ranks  thinned  by  killed, 
wounded  and  stragglers  fought  bravely,  but  with  the  want  of  that 
animation  and  spirit  which  characterized  them  the  preceeding 
day."  Many  Confederate  officers  described  the  situation  of  their 
army  in  still  more  despondent  terms. 

THE  PROPORTION  OF  ARTILLERY  AT  SHILOH 

The  proportion  of  artillery  was  greater  at  Shiloh  than  in  any 
other  important  battle  reported  in  history.  One  gun  to  1000  men 
had  usually  been  considered  a  fair  proportion  of  artillery  both 
in  Kurope  and  America. 

At  Bull  Run,  the  first  important  battle  of  the  war,  McDowell 
had  17,676  men  and  24  guns,  being  one  gun  to  736  men.  Antietam 
was  considered  remarkable  for  the  great  amount  of  artillery  in 
the  Union  Army,  the  proportion  being  approximately  one  gun 
to  560  men. 

At  Shiloh,  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  had  33,000  men  and  23 
batteries,  numbering  134  guns,  being  a  gun  to  246  men. 

The  Confederates  had  45,000  men,  19  batteries,  numbering 
110  guns,  about  one  gun  to  409  men.  The  majority  of  their 
guns  were  smooth  six-pounders,  while  ten  and  fourteen-pounder 
rifles  constituted  nearly  one-half  of  the  guns  in  the  Union  Army. 


A  LUDICROUS    EVENT. 

In  fulling  hack  from  the  first  line  at  Shiloh  Church  to  the 
Purely  Road,  a  most  ludicrous  event  occurred,  which  lias  been  var 
iously  described  by  both  Union  and  Confederate  authorities. 

There  was  in  Prentice's  Division  and  occupying  a  position  near 
the  right  of  his  line  a  battery  composed  of  raw  Dutchmen,  belong 
ing  to  the  2d  Illinois  Artillery  commanded  by  Captain  Swart/ 
and  known  as  Swart// s  Battery.  In  retiring  they  had  limbered 
to  the  front  and  made  a  left  wheel  to  the  rear,  and  in  doing  so, 
one  of  the  guns  had  locked  around  a  green  oak  tree,  about  a  foot 
in  diameter,  which  came  hard  and  fast  against  the  axle-tree, 
between  the  gun  and  the  wheel.  The  bullets  were  flying  pretty 
thick,  and  the  rest  of  the  battery  had  gone  to  the  rear,  and  this 
gun  with  no  one  but  the  postillions  on  the  horses,  left  behind. 
They  lay  fiat  on  their  horses  to  avoid  the  bullets  and  whipped 
and  spurred  their  horses  with  all  their  might,  hollering  "Arcmsh! 
Aroush!"  to  them  without  daring  to  look  back  to  see  what  was 
the  matter.  It  was  so  comical  that  it  raised  a  great  shout  of 
laughter  from  the  soldiers  in  sight,  notwithstanding  the  serious 
nature  of  the  surroundings.  Finally  some  cannoneers  from  another 
battery  went  and  unlimbered  the  gun,  cleared  it  from  the  tree, 
limbered  it  up,  and  they  rejoined  their  battery,  which  went  part 
way  to  the  left  of  Sherman's  Division  on  the  Purely  Road,  and 
stopped  and  stood  perfectly  still,  and  the  Rebels  came  up  and  sur 
rounded  and  captured  the  entire  battery  without  firing  a  shot. 
Captain  Swart/,  however,  rode  off  and  came  over  to  General  Sher 
man  and  said:  "Well,  General,  my  battery  bees  all  gone."  The 
General  said:  "What!  have  you  lost  your  guns?"  Swartz  replied: 
"Yes,  my  guns  is  all  gone."  "Well,  you  spiked  them,  did  you?" 
the  General  asked.  Swartz,  with  apparent  astonishment  says: 
"What,  spike  the  guns!  Spoil  them  nice  guns!"  He  had  a  splen 
did  battery  of  bright  new  James  rifles.  They  were  recaptured 
next  day,  and  the  battery  was  assigned  to  Hurlbut's  Division. 
Hurlbut  called  the  battery  his  trading  stock,  and  would  offer  to 
trade  them  with  other  Commanders  for  any  regiments  or  battery 
they  had,  the  same  as  boys  trade  jacknives,  unsight  and  unseen. 

CONFEDERATE    CASUALTIES. 

Four  days  after  the  battle,  on  the  llth  of  April,  General  Beau- 
regard  reported  1 ,72'>  killed,  X,()12  wounded  and  1)5!)  missing. 
By  what  theory  or  on  what  basis  of  information  he  arrived  at 

31 


these  totals  seems  hard  to  determine.  As  the  Confederate  Records 
show  that  at  the  time  of  making  this  report  but  22  of  the  115 
Commanders  of  Regiments,  Battalions  and  Batteries  that  par 
ticipated  in  the  battle  had  made  any  reports  at  all,  and  of  these  but 
eleven  had  reported  any  casualties,  with  the  exception  of  one 
Division  Commander,  who  made  no  report  of  casualties,  no  Bri 
gade  Division  or  Corps  Commander  had  made  any  report  at  all. 
About  the  most  authentic  report  of  casualties  was  made  by  William 
I).  Lyels,  Medical  Director  of  the  1st  Corps  on  April  17th,  six 
days  after  Beauregard's  report.  Dr.  Lyels  says  of  his  report: 
"I  have  collected  it  from  a  crude  mass  of  regimental  reports, 
they  in  many  instances  being  nearly  unintelligible;  I  cannot, 
therefore,  pretend  the  one  I  submit,  digested  as  it  is  from  such 
sources,  is  accurate."  Accompanying  the  report  is  a  foot  note, 
saying:  "The  memorandum  enclosed  with  the  original  consists 
of  a  nominal  and  partly  illegible  list  of  officers,  killed  and  Avounded, 
and  a  summing  up  probably  of  totals,  officers  and  men,  of  388 
killed  and  1,981  wounded." 

As  General  Sherman  says  in  his  memoirs:  " Reports  and  re 
turns  were  not  the  fashion  in  that  Army,,  and  Beauregard's  report 
of  casualties  is  hardly  entitled  to  be  considered  otherwise  than  as 
a  very  bad  guess."  When  Beauregard  made  his  report  of  1,723 
killed,  General  Sherman  said  that  that  many  or  more  had  been 
buried  in  front  of  his  and  McClernand's  Divisions.  In  these  two 
divisions,  the  officers  in  charge  of  burying  the  dead  had  been 
directed  to  keep  an  account  of  the  number  buried,  and  Captain 
Harry  Rogers,  Lieutenant  Lansing  and  myself  made  a  memoran 
dum  of  the  number  of  Confederates  reported  by  these  officers, 
which  amounted  to  1,745,  fully  one-fourth  being  in  citizens'  dress 
with  no  pretense  of  uniform. 

NOTE: -On  page  367  of  his  memoirs,  referring  to  Beauregards  report  of  the  number  of  Con 
federates  killed  at  Shiloh  General  Grant  says,  "this  estimate  must  be  incorrect,  we  buried  by 
actual  count,  more  of  the  enemy's  dead  in  front  of  the  Divisions  of  McClernand  and  Sherman 
alone  than  here  reported,  and  4000  was  the  estimate  of  the  burial  parties  for  the  entire  field." 
The  foregoing  statement  of  General  Grant  did  not  come  to  my  notice  until  after  my  Shiloh  paper 
was  prepared. 

In  his  official  report  dated  April  16,  1862,  General  Nelson 
of  Buell's  Army,  states  that  his  Division  buried  98  Union  soldiers 
and  236  Rebels.  There  were  1,754  Union  soldiers  killed  at  Shiloh, 
and  within  our  lines  there  were  certainly  many  more  Confederate 
than  Union  dead.  All  authorities  agree  on  this  point,  and  there 
were  more  dead  Rebels  outside  our  lines  than  within.  General 
McClernand,  in  his  official  report  of  April  14th,  1862,  says:  "With- 

32 


in  a  rtiidus  of  200  yards  of  my  headquarters  some  150  dead  bodies 
were  left  on  the  field,  the  proportion  of  Rebels  to  Union  being  about 
three  to  one. 

On  the  left  of  the  Union  line  in  front  of  the  "Hornet's  Nest/' 
where  so  many  assaults  on  Hurlbut's  and  W.  H.  L.  Wallace's 
Divisions  were  made  on  Sunday  afternoon,  and  were  each  time 
repulsed  with  heavy  loss  while  inflicting  slight  loss  on  the  Union 
troops  it  certainly  looked  as  though  there  were  five  dead  in  Gray 
to  one  in  Blue. 

Twice  the  number  reported  by  Beauregard  would  be  an  under 
estimate  of  the  dead  left  on  the  field  at  Shiloh  by  the  Confederate 
Army.  The  principal  Confederate  Hospital  was  established  some 
distance  from  Shiloh  on  the  Corinth  Road,  so  that  many  of  the 
wounded  had  to  go  three  to  four  miles  before  receiving  medical 
treatment,  which  cost  many  lives.  The  road  From  Shiloh  to  Corinth 
was  strewn  with  dead  bodies  and  fresh  made  graves. 

In  and  around  Corinth  were  some  10,000  Confederate  graves, 
and  citizens  and  prisoners  reported  that  fully  4,000  oi  them  were 
men  who  had  been  wounded  at  Shiloh. 

When  Sherman's  Division  entered  Holly  Springs  in  July,  1861?, 
they  found  1,1(M)  fresh  graves,  that  citizens  reported  were  those 
of  men  wounded  at  Shiloh,  who  had  been  brought  to  th"  hospital 
there  from  Shiloh.  Two  years  later  while  camping  at  Hollv 
Springs  with  my  Brigade  for  a  few  days  L  made  my  headquarters 
with  Dr.  Bonner,  a  leading  citizen,  who  had  been  in  charge  of 
the  Confederate  Hospitals  at  that  place,  and  who  corroborated 
the  above  statement.  Many  wounded  were  assisted  back  to 
Corinth  by  their  comrades,  and  put  on  cars  and  sent  to  their 
homes,  where  they  died  from  their  injuries,  but  their  numbers 
can  never  bo  ascertained.  The  character  of  the  wounds  received 
by  the  Confederate  soldiers  was  much  more  severe  than  by  the 
Union  soldiers,  as  many  Union  soldiers'  wounds  were  from  buck 
shot,  and  were  not  of  a  serious  nature;  while  the  Confederates 
were  injured  by  the  heavy  niinnie  balls  from  Springfield  and 
Enfield  rifles,  or  shells  and  canister  from  the  artillery;  and  owing 
to  the  inadequacy  of  hospital  accommodations,  medical  supplies 
and  appliances,  and  the  excessively  hot  weather  that  followed 
soon  after  the  battle,  the  fatalities  among  the  Confederate  wounded 
were  so  excessive,  thai  President  Jefferson  Davis  ordered  an 
investigation,  inspection  and  report  on  the  14th  of  June  following. 

33 


In  discussing  the  Confederate  losses  at  Shiloh  with  General 
Sherman  after  the  close  of  the  war,  he  expressed  the  opinion 
that  at  that  time  they  were  so  slack  in  the  matter  of  muster  rolls, 
reports  and  returns  that  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  know 
how  many  had  been  killed  or  wounded  at  Shiloh,  or  even  within 
several  thousand  of  the  number  they  had  there  engaged;  but 
their  killed  and  wounded  mast  have  been  fully  double  the  number 
they  reported.  He  also  stated  that  had  they  known  the  numbers 
they  would  not  have  dared  to  let  it  be  known  to  their  people. 

LEW  WALLACE. 

One  of  the  strongest  and  most  experienced  Divisions  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  commanded  by  General  Lew  Wallace, 
\vas  camped  at  ('rump's  Landing,  a  little  more  than  five  miles 
below  Pittsburg  Landing. 

Clearly  through  the  fault  of  its  Commander  this  Division 
did  not  participate  in  the  battle  of  the  6th.  On  the  25th  of  April, 

1562,  in  endorsing  and  forwarding  General  Lew  Wallace's  report 
to  General  Halleck,  General  Grant  says:    "I  directed  this  Division 
at  about  S  o'clock  A.   M.,  to  be  held  in  readiness  to  move  at  a 
moment's  warning  in  any  direction  it  might  be  ordered.    Certainly 
not  later  than  11  A.  M.  the  order  reached  General  Wallace  to  march 
by    a    flank    movement    to    Pittsburg    Landing.      Waiting   until    I 
thought  he  should  be  here,   I  sent  one  of  my  staff  to  hurry  him, 
and  afterwards  sent  Colonel  McPherson  and  my  Assistant  Adju 
tant    General."     General   McPherson  states  in   his   report,   dated 
March  26,   1S63,  that   soon  after  arriving  on  the  field  at  Shiloh, 
General  Grant  stated  to  him  that  he  had  given  the  first  order  to 
Wallace  at  7:30  A.  M.     He  also  stated  that  Captain  Baxter  returned 
after  delivering  the  first  order  to  General  Wallace  to  move  at  once 
to  Shiloh  by  the  river  road,  certainly  not  later  than   10:30. 

Adjutant    General   John    A.    Rawlins.  under  date  of  April    1st, 

1563,  states  that  General  Grant's  first  order  was  given  to  General 
Wallace  between  7  and  7:30  A.  M.     He  also  states  that  Captain 
Baxter  took  the  order  to  General  Wallace  to  move  his   Division 
to  Pittsburg  Landing  by  the  road  nearest  to  and  parallel  with  the 
river,  on  the  steamer  Tigress,  leaving  not  later  than  9  A.  M.    The 
Tigress  should  make  the  run  in  half  an  hour,  and  had  done  it  that 
morning  in  25  minutes.     Notwithstanding  tlie.se  orders,  and  the 
urgency   of  the  case.   General    Wallace  loitered   and   delayed   and 
waited  to  get  dinner  and  did  not  move  at  all  until  after  12  o'clock. 

34 


when  he  deliberately  moved  out  on  the  Adamsville  Road,  right 
past  the  river  road,  which  he  had  been  ordered  to  take,  going  away 
from  the  battle  field  instead  of  towards  it,  until  he  came  to  the 
Purdy  Road,  which  he  took  and  followed  nearly  five  miles,  when 
he  countermarched  back,  and  took  a  cross  ro.'id  which  ran  diagonal 
ly  across  into  the  Pittsburg  Landing  Road,  and  finally  crossed 
Snake  Creek  onto  the  battle  held  some  time  after  the  fighting  had 
ceased. 

About  two  o'clock  P.  M.,  General  (Jrant  had  sent  McPherson 
and  Rawlins  to  find  Wallace  and  hurry  him  forward.  They  trailed 
him  up  till  they  found  him  and  stayed  with  him  and  urged  him 
forward  as  much  as  they  could,  but  in  spite  of  all  their  efforts 
he  took  so  much  time  to  countermarch,  shift  his  artillery  to  the 
rear  and  wait  for  his  column  to  close  up,  that  with  their  best  efforts, 
they  were  not  able  to  get  him  onto  the  field  until  after  dark. 
He  claimed  that  he  did  not  know  the  road,  and  that  his  guide  had 
misled  him.  His  Division  occupied  the  position  at  Crump's 
Landing  on  March  13th  as  the  advance  of  an  invading  army,  and 
for  him  to  allow  a  day  to  pass  without  informing  himself  of  the 
roads  in  the  vicinity  and  the  approaches  to  his  position,  would 
be  proof  positive  of  his  incompetency  and  unworthiness  to  hold 
any  responsible  command. 

General  Grant  stated  that  had  Morgan  L.  Smith,  who  commanded 
the  1st  Brigade  of  Wallace's  Division,  been  in  command  of  the 
Division  it  would  have  been  on  the  field  by  10  A.  M. 

There  is  an  unwritten  law,  or  military  regulation,  that  in  case 
of  a  general  engagement,  any  detached  bodies  of  troops  should 
proceed  at  once  to  join  the  main  body  in  the  absence  of  positive 
contrary  orders.  For  a  long  time  Napoleon  made  this  a  standing- 
order. 

Firing  by  heavy  volleys  commenced  at  Shiloh  at  5:15  A.  M. 
and  artillery  firing  by  .5:30.  Officers  in  Wallace's  Division  stated 
that  they  heard  nearly  the  first  volleys.  He  could  have  made  the 
march  in  an  hour  and  a  half.  Had  that  Division  been  commanded 
by  a  capable  and  energetic  officer,  it  might  have  been  on  the  field 
by  S  A.  M.,  and  with  their  support  of  the  first  line  at  Shiloh 
Church,  it  might  have  been  sustained,  and  the  enemy  handsomely 
repulsed  by  noon  with  much  less  loss  to  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  attack  on  the  first  I'nion  line  at  Shiloh  Church  was  made 
by  Hardee's,  Bragg's  and  Polk's  Corps,  with  Trabue's  Brigade  of 


Breckenridge's  Reserves,  consisting  of  32,106  men  and  9S  guns, 
according  to  the  lowest  number  stated  by  any  Confederate  authori 
ty.  Many  of  these  men  had  seen  twelve  months  service. 

Their  fierce  and  impetuous  attack  was  met  by  the  effective 
force  of  Sherman's  and  Prentice's  Divisions,  with  a  small  portion 
of  McClernand's  aggregating  in  all  15,793  men,  a  majority  of  whom 
that  day  for  the  first  time  heard  the  sound  of  a  hostile  gun,  who 
held  them  in  check  four  to  five  hours,  and  inflicted  a  loss  on  them 
more  than  double  their  own. 

Such  was  the  material  composing  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
which  under  the  leadership  of  Grant,  Sherman,  McPherson, 
Howard  and  Logan  attained  a  record  unapproached  by  any  army 
that  ever  trod  the  Karth. 

It  has  been  truly  said  of  them  that  they  fought  as  many  battles 
as  there  are  days  in  a  year,  and  never  suffered  a  defeat.  Including 
battles  where  a  brigade  or  more  was  engaged  they  were  entitled 
to  inscribe  on  their  banners  over  two  hundred  victories. 

Xot  a  gun  was  fired  at  them  that  they  did  not  capture;  not 
an  army  confronted  them  that  they  did  not  destroy;  no  strong 
hold  of  the  enemy  impeded  their  progress,  that  was  not  compelled 
to  capitulate;  no  army  marched  such  distances  since  the  barbaric 
hosts  of  Genghis  Khan  invaded  Kurope  some  seven  centuries  a^o. 

It  was  of  this  army  th'it  General  Jos.  K.  Johnson  said,  when 
asked  by  Jefferson  Davis  if  lie  could  not  prevent  them  from 
marching  through  the  Carolinas:  "As  well  attempt  to  prevent 
the  Karth  from  revolving  on  its  axis.  Xo  such  army  has  been 
organized  since  the  days  of  Julius  Caesar." 


36 


OF  THE 

0    UNIVERSITY 

OF 


Siege  of  Corinth. 


THE  Siege  of  Corinth  presents  a  most  remarkable  illustra 
tion  of  how  not  to  do  it. 

General  Halleck  arrived  at  Pittsburg  Landing  on  Friday, 
April  11,  1862,  and  at  once  assumed  command  of  the  troops  there 
assembled,  and  soon  commenced  gathering  additional  troops, 
reorganizing  the  Army,  and  preparing  for  an  advance  on  Corinth. 

General  Woods'  and  Thomas'  Divisions  of  Buell's  Army  arrived 
soon  after  the  Battle  of  Shiloh,  ;md  on  the  21st  of  April,  Major 
General  John  Pope  arrived  with  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi, 
30, 000  strong,  fresh  from  the  capture  of  Island  Xo.  10,  and  went 
into  camp  at  Humburgh,  five  miles  above  Pittsburg  Landing. 
General  Thomas'  Division  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio  was  transferred 
to  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  and  General  Thomas  placed  in  com 
mand  of  that  army. 

General  McClernand's  and  Lew  Wallace's  Divisions  were  de 
tached  from  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  and  formed  the  reserve 
under  command  of  General  McClernand. 

The  Army  of  the  Tennessee  occupied  the  right;  the  Army  of  the 
Ohio,  the  center,  and  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi,  the  left.  General 
Grant  was  designated  as  second  in  command  and  commanding 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  and  the  reserves,  but  during  the  ad vance 
and  Siege  of  Corinth  was  utterly  ignored  by  General  Halleck, 
who  sent  orders  direct  to  the  commanders  of  the  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  and  reserves  and  frequently  to  Division  and  Brigade 
Commanders.  Some  portions  of  the  Union  forces  advanced  on 
April  24th  and  27th,  but  the  general  advances  did  not  commence 
until  April  29th,  and  the  movements  of  General  Halleck's  forces 
were  so  conducted  that  they  took  positions  averaging  two  miles 
in  front  of  the  enemy's  outer  lines,  on  the  28th  of  May,  the  right 
not  being  fully  in  position  until  the  29th,  making  20  miles  in  30 
days,  or  some  two  miles  less  than  the  Confederates  marched  in 
one  day  and  three  hours,  on  April  3d  and  morning  of  the  4th, 

37 


they  not  being  nearly  as  well  supplied  with  transportation  and 
facilities  for  marching,  and  the  roads  being  then  in  much  worse 
condition  from  excessive  rains. 

From  the  start,  General  Hal  leek  commenced  building  roads  and 
bridges  and  parallel  roads  and  bridges  and  crossroads  to  connect 
them  one  with  another,  and  every  position  and  camp  was  fortified; 
not  counting  rifle  pits  and  light  or  temporary  breast  works  in 
front  of  camps,  we  built  49  miles  of  heavy  breast  works  during  the 
advance  on  Corinth.  The  commanders  of  troops  were  directed 
to  avoid  bringing  on  an  engagement,  and  were  told  in  so  many 
words  that  it  was  better  to  fall  back  than  to  fight.  Generally  the 
line  of  troops  presented  a  frontage  of  five  to  six  miles.  General 
Halleck  made  his  headquarters  with  the  right,  it  being  the  talk 
in  camp  that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  watching- General  Grant 
and  preventing  him  from  any  possible  chance  of  doing  anything; 
but  this  took  him  so  far  away  from  Pope  on  the  left,  that  he  was 
able  to  break  away  from  him  occasionally,  as  described  by  General 
Grant  in  his  memoirs,  and  on  the  third  of  May,  threw  forward  a 
Division  to  Farmington,  within  four  miles  of  Corinth,  where  they 
had  quite  an  engagement,  but  carried  the  place  with  considerable 
loss  to  the  enemy,  but  were  ordered  back  at  once  to  the  main  line. 
On  the  8th  of  May,  Pope  moved  forward  again  with  his  whole 
command  to  Farmington  and  advanced  in  two  Divisions  to  the 
Confederate  lines  at  Corinth,  but  was  again  compelled  to  fall  back 
to  the  main  line  a  little  in  front  of  Monterey. 

It  was  the  generally  expressed  opinion  at  the  time,  that  had 
Pope  been  allowed  to  do  so,  he  would  have  effected  the  capture 
or  compelled  the  evacuation  of  Corinth  in  two  days.  The  most 
important  engagement  during  the  siege  of  Corinth  was  on  the  17th 
of  May,  at  the  Hussell  House,  some  three  and  a  half  miles  from 
Corinth,  and  in  front  of  the  right  of  our  line.  The  enemy's  position 
was  carried  after  about  half  an  hour  hard  fighting  by  Morgan  L. 
Smith's  Brigade  and  Bouton's  Battery;  the  Union  loss  was  ten 
killed  and  31  wounded;  the  enemy  left  13  dead  on  the  field,  includ 
ing  one  captain  and  two  lieutenants,  and  carried  away  many 
wounded.  Lieutenant  Dwyer,  Co.  A,  8th  Mo.  Infantry,  who  had 
that  morning  received  his  appointment  as  Lieutenant  for  bravery 
and  skill  on  other  fields,  fell  at  almost  the  first  fire  of  the  enemy. 
During  the  fight  a  Confederate  officer  appeared  at  one  of  the  win 
dows  of  the  Russell  House  and  called  out  to  his  men  wrho  were 
retreating  to  come  back,  "the  d d  cowardly  Yankees  are  run- 

38 


ning;"  he  had  scarcely  uttered  the  words  when  a  hall  from  the 
rifle  of  R.  M.  Snydor,  (1o.  G,  8th  Mo.,  crashed  through  his  brain 
and  he  fell  dead.  At  the  Russell  House  we  encountered  the  same 
men  that  we  had  confronted  at  Shiloh,  then  armed  with  shot  guns, 
Old  Harper's  Ferry  muskets,  Mississippi  rifles  and  anything  that 
would  shoot,  now  armed  with  new  Enfield  English  Government 
rifles,  with  the  tower  and  crown  brand  on  the  lock  plates,  dated 
1 861,  which  had  been  issued  to  the  troops  but  two  days  before 
from  English  Government  arms  cases,  direct  from  the  Woolwich 
arsenal,  bearing  the  arsenal  brand.  We  captured  17  of  these  rifles, 
some  of  which  had  never  been  fired.  From  this  on  we  had  to  fight 
against  the  most  modern  English  Government  arms  and  ammuni 
tion.  This  subject  was  treated  all  too  lightly  by  the  Geneva 
Commission  of  Arbitration,  the  English  representatives  asserting 
that  it  was  nothing,  as  their  people  were  traders  and  sold  to  whom 
they  could  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  the  great  Sepoy 
Rebellion  their  owrn  soldiers  were  shot  down  with  guns  and  ammu 
nition  sold  to  the  rebels  by  English  traders.  That  might  well  be, 
but  English  traders  are  not  likely  to  draw  the  latest  government 
arms  in  cases  from  the  Woolwich  arsenal. 

On  the  21st  of  May,  Sedge  wick's  Brigade  of  Nelson's  Division 
of  Buell's  Army,  had  a  sharp  skirmish  with  quite  a  strong  force 
of  the  enemy  at  Widow  Scott's  house,  nearly  in  front  of  the  center 
of  the  Union  lines. 

From  the  position  of  General  Sherman's  command  at  the  Russell 
House,  being  next  to  the  last  line  in  front  of  the  enemy's  works, 
one  of  the  guns  of  Bouton's  Battery  threw  a  shell  through  the 
dome  of  a  public  building  in  Corinth,  three  and  one-eighth  miles 
distant,  wrhich  was  considered  a  remarkable  achievement  for  a 
field  gun  at  that  time. 

On  the  28th  of  May,  General  Pope  with  the  left  of  the  line  of 
Union  troops  finally  occupied  the  position  at  Farmington  that 
he  had  attained  on  the  3d  and  again  on  the  8th,  and  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  29th,  General  Sherman  on  the  right  got  into  position  on 
the  right,  which  completed  the  line  of  investment. 

During  the  day  and  night  of  the  28th  nearly  Halleck's  entire 
army  were  building  breast  works  to  resist  an  anticipated  attack 
of  the  enemy,  who  were  in  fact  at  that  time  getting  away  from 
Corinth  about  as  fast  as  they  could.  Almost  immediately  after 
the  fight  at  the  Russell  House,  they  had  commenced  shipping  away 
supplies,  and  on  the  day  and  night  of  the  29th,  trains  of  cars 

39 


\vere  moving;  rapidly,  in  taking  out  both  troops  and  supplies, 
their  sick  and  wounded  having  been  removed  some  days  previous; 
the  remainder  of  the  enemy's  forces  commenced  marching  out 
of  Corinth  at  10  P.  M.  on  the  29th  and  were  all  gone  by  morning, 
the  real1  guard  firing  a  train  that  exploded  a  lot  of  ammunition  and 
set  fire  to  several  buildings — about  5  A.  M.  on  the  30th. 

A  portion  of  the  Rebel  pickets  were  relieved  by  cavalry  during 
the  night  and  a  portion  were  neglected  and  left  on  their  post  and 
mostly  captured.  The  Rebels  burned  all  bridges  behind  them, 
and  in  their  haste  they  burned  the  Tuscumbia  Railroad  bridge 
before  six  trains  loaded  mostly  with  commissary  stores  could  cross 
and  they  were  destroyed.  The  running  of  so  many  trains  out  of 
Corinth  during  the  night  had  created  the  impression  among  the 
troops  in  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  on  the  right  of  the  line  who 
were  nearest  to  Corinth,  that  the  enemy  were  evacuating,  and  by 
daylight  men  from  the  picket  line  came  back  to  camp  and  reported 
the  enemy  gone  from  their  front,  and  the  explosions  and  fires 
soon  following  confirmed  the  reported  evacuation,  and  the  word 
was  at  once  passed  along  the  lines  that  the  enemy  had  left  Corinth, 
immediately  followed  by  calls  to  turn  out  and  go  into  Corinth; 
and  among  the  Batteries,  to  hitch  up  and  go  into  Corinth,  so  by 
a  common  impulse,  a  great  portion  of  the  troops  started  into 
Corinth  without  waiting  for  orders. 

When  General  Sherman's  command  were  going  pell-mell  into 
Corinth,  he  received  orders  from  General  Halleck  to  advance 
cautiously  and  feel  of  the  enemy's  position.  At  2  A.  M.  that  morn 
ing,  General  Halleck  sent  dispatches  to  General  Buell,  informing 
him  that  the  enemy  were  re-enforcing  heavily  on  our  left,  which 
it  was  stated  would  be  undoubtedly  attacked  at  daylight,  and 
directing  him  to  be  prepared  to  support  General  Pope.  At  4:30 
A.  M.  General  Xelson  reported  to  General  Buell  that  the  enemy 
were  evacuating  Corinth,  and  that  he  had  ordered  his  troops  to 
advance,  and  very  soon  alter  Ins  and  McCook's  Divisions  entered 
the  deserted  works  at  Corinth. 

I  do  not  know  of  a  Battery,  Regiment,  Brigade  or  Division  that 
did  not  claim  to  be  the  first  to  enter  Corinth  on  the  morning  of 
May  30th,  the  Commanders  of  the  three  armies  each  claiming 
that  the  troops  of  his  command  were  first;  but  I  think  the  proof 
is  conclusive  that  Bouton's  Battery  was  first,  as  there  were  three 
quite  large  packing  cases  full  of  unsigned  Confederate  money  in 
the  Railroad  depot,  and  the  members  of  the  Battery  got  it  all. 

40 


The  men  seemed  to  have  no  difficulty  in  procuring  the  signatures 
of  the  proper  officers  of  the  Confederate  Treasury,  although  I 
was  never  aware  of  their  forwarding  the  notes  to  Richmond  for 
that  purpose.  All  the  following  summer,  the  men  in  the  Battery 
bought  abundant  supplies  of  chickens,  eggs,  milk  and  various 
luxuries  and  delicacies  of  the  planters  through  the  country,  and 
paid  them  liberally  in  their  much  loved  Confederate  money.  Ac 
cording  to  the  report  of  citizens,  the  main  body  of  the  Confederate 
Army  were  out  of  Corinth  by  2  A.  M.  and  the  rear  guard  left  at 
daylight. 

In  the  afternoon  of  June  2d,  by  order  of  General  Halleck, 
General  Sherman  with  his  own  and  Hurlbut's  Divisions  moved 
West  on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  and  on  the  3d 
near  Tuscumbia  captured  seven  locomotives,  a  dozen  flat  cars, 
200  pair  of  car  trucks  and  the  iron  works  of  60  cars  that  had  been 
burned,  this  rolling  stock  having  constituted  six  trains;  principally 
loaded  with  commissary  stores,  that  were  cut  off  from  escape  by 
the  premature  burning  of  the  Tuscumbia  and  Cypress  Creek 
Railroad  bridges,  by  Confederate  cavalry,  and  were  destroyed 
as  far  as  practicable.  The  main  body  of  the  Confederate  Army 
marched  southwest  from  Corinth  to  Baldwin  31  miles,  to  which 
point  they  were  followed  by  General  Pope  with  his  own  command 
and  two  Divisions  from  Buell's  Army.  They  stayed  but  three  or 
four  days  at  this  place  when  they  commenced  falling  back  to 
Tupelo  and  were  followed  no  further. 

GEN.  HALLECK  CONTINUALLY  ASKS  FOR 
MORE   MEN. 

Preparatory  for  and  during  the  advance  on  Corinth,  General 
Halleck  not  only  assembled  together  all  the  available  forces  of 
his  own  widely  extended  command,  but  continually  asked  for 
more  from  outside.  During  the  advance  seA7eral  of  the  Northern 
Governors  visited  the  army  arid  General  Halleck  made  such 
representations  to  them  as  to  induce  them  to  ask  the  Secretary 
of  War  and  President  to  send  more  troops  to  Halleck,  notable 
among  these  was  a  dispatch  from  Governor  O.  P.  Morton  to  the 
Secretary  of  War  of  May  22d,  in  which  he  says,  "Halleck's  Army 
has  been  greatly  reduced  by  sickness.  The  enemy  are  in  great 
force  at  Corinth,  and  have  recently  received  re-enforcements. 
They  evidently  intend  to  make  a  desperate  struggle  at  that  point. 

41 


They  are  continuously  at  work  on  their  entrenchments,  which 
are  becoming  of  a  formidable  character.  It  is  fearful  to  contem 
plate  the  consequences  of  a  defeat  at  Corinth.  I  would  most 
earnestly  ask  that,  if  it  is  possible,  ten  more  regiments  be  at  once 
detached  from  other  points  and -sent  here,  and  also  that  no  time 
should  be  lost  in  doing  this,  etc."  While  General  Halleck  was 
making  use  of  the  presence  of  Governors  of  Northern  states  to 
ask  for  more  troops,  he  was  complaining  to  the  War  Department 
that  they  and  the  Sanitary  Commission  were  carrying  his  men 
away  on  pretense  of  sickness. 

In  a  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  Corinth  Road, 
May  22d,  among  other  things  he  says:  "I  hear  nothing  of  Kansas 
troops.  Have  they  been  ordered  here?  All  of  my  re-enforcements 
will  be  here  in  about  four  days.  Beyond  that,  I  have  nothing  to 
expect  from  this  Department.  The  Sanitary  Commission  and 
State  Governors  carry  away  troops  faster  than  I  can  recruit.  Men 
only  slightly  unwell  or  feigning  sickness  are  carried  away  without 
my  authority/7 

To  this  dispatch  the  Secretary  of  War  answered  on  the  23d,  as 
follows:  "Your  dispatch  of  10  yesterday  forenoon  received. 
Neither  the  Sanitary  Commission  or  the  Governors  of  Sates  have 
any  authority  from  this  Department  to  remove  troops  under 
pretense  of  sickness  or  any  other  cause  without  your  authority. 
You  are  authorized  to  make  and  enforce  any  regulations  you  deem 
proper  in  respect  to  sick  or  wounded,  and  to  prevent  any  inter 
ference  or  conflict  with  your  own  regulations.  Three  Regiments 
of  Infantry,  one  Regiment  of  Cavalry  and  two  Batteries  of  Artillery 
have  been  ordered  from  Kansas  to  join  you." 

Assistant  Secretary  of  War  Scott  was  with  General  Halleck 
during  most  of  the  advance  on  Corinth,  and  was  kept  quite  busy 
sending  frantic  appeals  for  more  troops  and  scare  messages  to 
the  War  Department,  the  most  notable  of  which  was  one  dated 
Monterey,  May  6th,  in  which  he  says  in  part:  "A  number  of  deser 
ters  from  Corinth  came  in  yesterday.  They  report  very  large  force, 
well  entrenched  and  say  Beauregard  is  receiving  re-enforcements 
every  day.  A  few  days  ago  forces  began  to  arrive  from  South 
Carolina.  General  Lovell  is  expected  to-day  from  New  Orleans 
with  3.000  effective  men.  It  is  now  believed  the  Rebels  will  leave 
Virginia  and  endeavor  to  save  the  Mississippi  Valley  by  crushing 
our  Western  Army.  Beauregard,  by  concentrating  troops  from 
New  Orleans, Mobile,  Memphis,  Fort  Pillow  and  intermediate  points 

42 


will  certainly  add  60,000  effective  men  to  the  army  ho  had  ten 
days  ago,  and  this  without  any  force  from  Virginia,  South  Caro 
lina  or  Georgia.  With  all  these  facts  as  we  believe  them  here,  it 
becomes  a  grave  question  for  you  to  consider  whether  a  column 
of  40,000  or  50,000  men  should  be  sent  from  the  East." 

In  another  dated  Farming-ton,  May  13th,  he  says:  "The  officer 
in  charge  of  the  advance  pickets,  last  night,  reports  that  lie 
heard  distinctly  the  arrival  of  a  number  of  trains  at  Corinth  during 
the  night  with  re-enforcements.  Such  trains  were  greeted  with 
immense  cheering  on  arrival.  The  enemy  are  concentrating  a 
powerful  army.  Halleck  has  here  and  011  the  way  all  the  force 
under  his  command,  and  I  believe  he  ought  to  have  more  to  insure 
success  at  Corinth." 

In  another  dispatch,  he  says:  "It  is  now  pretty  clear  that  an 
overwhelming  force  will  be  massed  at  Corinth  to  crush  this  army. 
In  my  judgment,  which  I  respectfully  offer  for  your  consideration, 
a  heavy  re-enforcement  of  Infantry  and  Artillery  should  be  sent 
immediately,  or  wre  shall  soon  be  the  party  besieged,  and  that 
too  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy's  country." 

On  May  24th,  President  Lincoln  sent  the  following  dispatch 
to  General  Halleck:  "Several  dispatches  from  Assistant  Secre 
tary  Scott  and  one  from  Governor  Morton,  asking  re-enforcements 
for  you  have  been  received.  1  beg  you  to  be  assured  we  do  the 
best  we  can.  1  mean  to  cast  no  blame  when  1  tell  you  each  of  our 
commanders  along  our  lines  from  Richmond  to  Corinth  supposes 
himself  to  be  confronted  by  numbers  superior  to  his  owrn.  Under 
this  pressure  we  thinned  the  line  on  the  upper  Potomac,  until 
yesterday  it  was  broken  at  heavy  loss  to  us,  and  General  Banks 
'put  in  great  peril,  out  of  which  he  is  not  yet  extricated  and  may 
be  actually  captured.  We  need  men  to  repair  the  breach,  and 
have  them  not  at  hand.  My  dear  General,  I  feel  justified  to  rely 
very  much  on  you.  I  believe  you  and  the  brave  officers  and  men 
with  you  can  and  will  get  the  victory  at  Corinth." 

It  was  a  common  practice  for  Beauregard  to  have  men  desert 
and  come  into  Union  lines,  or  allowr  themselves  to  be  captured 
for  the  purpose  of  making  reports  to  deceive  or  mislead  command 
ing  officers,  and  he  reported  having  ordered  his  men  to  cheer  on 
the  arrival  of  every  train  to  create  the  impression  among  the 
Yankees  that  re-enforcements  were  arriving. 

On  Page  381,  Vol.  1,  of  his  memoirs,  General  Grant  says:  "For 
myself,  1  am  satisfied  that  Corinth  could  have  been  captured  in 

43 


a  two  day  campaign,  commenced  promptly  on  the  arrival  of  re- 
enforcements  after  the  Battle  of  Shiloh."  The  opinion  was  fre 
quently  expressed  after  the  arrival  of  Pope's  Army,  that  any  of  a 
do/en  officers  under  Halleck's  command  could  capture  Corinth 
any  time  in  five  days,  with  one-half  of -his  force.  General  Logan 
stated  to  General  Grant  on  the  28th  of  May  that  he  could  go  into 
Corinth  with  his  single  Brigade,  if  allowed  to  do  so,  as  the  enemy 
had  been  evacuating  for  several  days. 

REBEL  WORKS   AROUND  CORINTH. 

In  a  dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  May  30th,  General 
Halleck  says:  "Enemy's  position  and  works  in  front  of  Corinth 
were  exceedingly  strong.  He  cannot  occupy  stronger  positions/1 

Generals  Grant  and  Sherman,  and  in  fact  every  one  but  General 
Halleck,  were  surprised  at  the  weakness  of  the  Rebel  defences, 
they  being  to  a  great  extent  armed  with  Quaker  guns,  consisting 
of  black  logs,  mounted  on  wagon  wheels,  pointing  threateningly 
toward  the  Union  lines.  Halleck  s  troops  had  certainly  built 
seven  better  lines  of  breastworks  during  the  advance  on  Corinth. 

STRENGTH  OF  THE  UNION  FORCES  THAT 
ADVANCED    ON    CORINTH. 

By  the  consolidated  reports  of  April  30th,  the  Army  of  the  Missis 
sippi,   General   Pope   commander,   showed  an  aggregate  present 
of....  ....21,510 

The  Army  of  the  Ohio,  Buell  commanding ....  .-.48,108 

The  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  General  Grant  commanding,  in 
cluding  the  reserve  under  McClernand...  ....50,554 

Grand  Total....  ...120,172 

On  May  31st  and  June  1st,  Pope's  total  aggregate  present 

had  increased  to  ...  _  .31,543 

Buell's  to....  ....67,781 

Army  of  the  Tennessee  proper....  36,950 

Reserve  under  McClernand—.  ..... 14,188 

Grand  Total...  ...150,462 

This  vast  army  was  well  armed  and  equipped,  well  drilled  and 
under  good  discipline.  Better  material  did  not  exist,  and  all 
considered  no  army  equal  to  it  had  ever  been  organized  on  this 

44 


continent  at  that  time    and  it  is  a  question  whether  it  has  been 
surpassed  since. 

CONFEDERATE   STRENGTH   AT  CORINTH. 

The  Confederate  held  returns  of  the  army  occupying  Corinth 
on  and  about  May  28th,  as  certified  by  General  Bragg,  showed 
aggregate  present  75,429  with  S64  officers  and  17,418  enlisted 
men  sick,  with  834  officers  and  19,235  enlisted  men  reported 
absent  with  leave,  and  104  officers  and  6,388  men  absent  without 
leave.  The  whole  army  was  in  a  very  demoralized  condition. 

The  term  of  enlistment  of  the  older  troops  had  expired  and  they 
wanted  to  get  away,  and  were  detained  against  their  will.  The 
new  troops  were  mostly  old  men  and  boys  and  quite  deficient  in 
drill  and  discipline.  Beauregard  could  never  muster  in  line  for 
duty  more  than  about  45,000  men,  and  in  their  condition  a  much 
less  number  from  any  portion  of  Halleck's  command  should  have 
been  more  than  a  match  for  them.  There  seems  but  little  excuse 
for  any  considerable  portion  of  this  army  ever  being  allowed  to 
get  away  from  Corinth. 

GENERAL  HALLECK'S  ROMANTIC  REPORTS. 

Iii  General  Sherman's  report  to  General  Halleck  of  his  fight 
at  the  Russell  House,  May  17,  he  says:  "Our  loss  yesterday,  8 
killed,  31  wounded;  12  Confederates  found  on  the  field  and  evi 
dence  of  the  removal  of  many  wounded." 

The  same  day  Halleck  reports  of  this  event ,  as  follows :  "  Enemy 
strongly  resisted  advance  on  right.  General  Sherman  reports 
44  killed  and  a  large  number  wounded.  Enemy  driven  back  at 
every  point,  leaving  his  killed  and  wounded  on  the  field.1' 

On  the  evening  of  June  3d,  General  Sherman  sent  from  Chewalla 
on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad  back  to  Halleck  at  Corinth 
a  report  that  they  had  captured  seven  locomotives,  about  a  do/en 
Hat  cars,  over  200  pair  of  truck  wheels,  with  the  iron  work  of  about 
(>()  cars  that  had  been  burned.  One  of  the  locomotives  had  already 
been  repaired  and  was  on  the  track  in  running  order. 

Regarding  this  matter,  Halleck  reported  to  the  War  Depart 
ment,  June  4th,  as  follows:  "We  captured  nine  locomotives  and 
a  number  of  cars,  one  of  the  former  is  already  repaired  and  is 
funning  to-day,  several  more  will  be  in  running  order  in  a  few  days. 
the  result  is  all  I  could  possibly  desire." 

45 


Attention  having  been  called  to  this  discrepancy,  he  corrected 
it  by  reporting  in  regard  to  the  locomotives:  "It  turns  out  on  a 
full  investigation  that  we  captured  eleven." 

On  the  4th  of  June  General  Halleck  sent  a  dispatch  to  the 
Secretary  of  War.  the  first  portion  of  which  was  as  follows: 

"General  Pope  with  40, 000  is  thirty  miles  south  of  Corinth, 
pushing  the  enemy  hard.  He  already  reports  10,000  prisoners 
and  deserters  from  the  enemy  and  lo.OOO  stands  of  arms  captured." 
This  and  some  similar  dispatches  were  published  in  the  paper  and 
thus  became  known  in  the  Army  at  Corinth,  and  it  was  then  sup 
posed  that  General  Pope  had  actually  inn.de  such  reports,  and  as 
it  was  well  known  that  no  such  captures  were  made,  it  gave  General 
Pope  the  reputation  of  being  the  greatest  liar  in  the  world. 

Illustrating  this  matter,  a  dialogue  was  reported  to  have  taken 
place  between  a  dying  soldier  and  a  chaplain  in  tho  Hospital  at 
Corinth.  The  chaplain  having  read  the  soldier  from  the  Bible 
that  Sampson  slew  ten  thousand  Philistines  with  the  jaw  bone  of 
an  ass,  the  soldier  asked  him  to  read  that  report  again;  on  his  doing 
so.  the  dying  soldier  raised  up  and  asked  if  that  was  signed  "John 
Pope,  Major  General." 

General  Grant  says  on  Page  382,  Vol.  1,  of  his  memoirs,  in 
speaking  of  the  pursuit  of  the  rebels  after  the  evacuation: 

"The  pursuit  was  kept  up  for  some  thirty  miles,  but  did  not 
result  in  the  capture  of  any  material  of  war  or  prisoners,  unless 
a  few  stragglers,  who  had  fallen  behind  and  were  willing  captives." 

The  only  foundation  whatever  for  Halleck's  dispatch  to  the 
Secretary  of  War  was  one  that  he  claimed  to  have  received  from 
Pope  on  the  evening  of  June  3d,  dated  near  Danville,  June  3d, 
1X62,  the  closing  paragraph  of  which  is  as  follows:  "The  roads 
for  miles  are  full  of  stragglers  from  the  enemy,  who  are  coining  in  in 
squads.  Xot  less  than  10,000  men  are  thus  scattered,  who  will 
come  in  within  a  day  or  two." 

In  regard  to  these  dispatches,  the  Following  correspondence 
took  place  between  General  Pope  and  General  Halleck  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1S65. 

Washington,  1).  (\,  July  3,  ISOo. 
Major  General  If.  \V.   Halleck,    U.  tf.  A., 

Washington,  1).  (\ 
General : 

The  War  has  now  ended  and  (he  events  and  incidents  connected 
with  it  are  passing  into  history.  As  I  do  nol  wish  that  any  report 

46 


or  misconception  which  has  been  circulated  to  my  prejudice,  and 
which  is  susceptible  of  explanation,  should  stand  recorded  against 
me,  and  as  the  reasons  which  actuated  me  in  preserving  silence  no 
longer  exist.  I  desire  to  invite  your  attention  to  a  dispatch  published 
in  the  newspapers,  dated  at  Corinth,  Miss.,  June  4,  1862,  purporting 
to  have  been  sent  by  you  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  containing 
substantially  the  following  words,  viz:  "General  Pope  is  )>0  miles 
south  of  Corinth,  pushing  the  enemy  hard.  He  already  reports 
10, 000  prisoners  and  deserters  and  15,000  stand  of  arms  captured, 
etc." 

1  do  not  know  that  you  ever  sent  such  a  report,  but  as  1  do 
know  that  I  never  made  such  a  report,  I  infer  that  if  you  sent  the 
dispatch  in  question  you  must  have  done  so  under  a  very  great 
misapprehension.  I  have  therefore  to  request  that  you  furnish 
me  a  copy  of  any  report  made  by  me  upon  which  such  a  dispatch 
as  that  in  question  was  sent. 

I  have  full  records  of  all  my  letters,  dispatches  and  reports  to 
you  during  the  operations  at  Corinth,  and  no  such  report  is  among 
them. 

I  am,  General, 

Respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

Jolin  Pope,  Major  General. 
Washington,  1).  C.,  July  o,  1X65. 
Major   General  John   Pof-e,    Present. 

General: — I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communi 
cation  of  the  ')d  instant.  As  my  papers  are  all  boxed  up  for  trans 
portation  to  California,  I  am  not  able  to  refer  to  the  dispatches 
to  which  you  allude,  nor  can  I  trust  my  memory  in  regard  to 
communications  made  more  than  three  years  ago,  further  than  to 
say  that  I  never  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  War  dispatches 
received  from  you.  which  were  not  so  received. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant. 

//.  jr.'  Halleck.  Major  General. 

In  response  to  this  General  Pope  sent  a  lengthy  communication 
to  which  General  Halleck  made  no  response. 

General  Beauregard  said  that  General  Halleck 's  reports  and 
dispatches  contained  as  many  lies  as  lines.  General  Beauregard 
ought  to  be  a  competent  judge,  as  he  was  conceded  to  be  an  expert 
a!  I  he  business  himself. 

The  magnificent  army  which  General  Halleck  had  assembled  at 
Corinth  was  soon  scattered  Kast  as  far  as  Chattanooga,  West  to 

47 


Memphis  and  Northwest  to  Jackson,  Bolivar  and  Columbus,  so 
that  General  Bragg,  who  succeeded  General  Beauregard,  was  able 
to  put  General  Grant,  who  succeeded  General  Halleck,  on  the 
defensive  at  nearly  every  point.  As  stated  by  (leneral  Grant,  this 
mistake  necessitated  fighting  several  hard  battles  that  would 
not  otherwise  have  been  necessary,  and  materially  prolonged  the 
war. 

On  the  llth  of  July,  General  Halleck  was  summoned  to  Wash 
ington  to  assume  command  of  all  the  armies,  having  been  in  im 
mediate  command  of  troops,  in  active  operations  in  the  field, 
just  three  months. 

While  General  Halleck  was  conceded  to  be  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability  and  of  high  attainments,  he  proved  most  con 
clusively  that  he  was  not  adapted  to  conducting  active  aggressive 
operations. 


48 


General    Grant. 


MY  FIRST   MEETING  WITH  GEN.  GRANT. 

I  FIRST  met  Gen.  Grant  at  Springfield,  111.,  early  in  the 
summer  of  1861,  1  having  gone  there  from  Chicago 
to  confer  with  Governor  Yates  and  the  Adjutant  General  in 
regard  to  recruiting  and  organizing  a  battery  in  Chicago, 
and  was  introduced  to  Captain  Grant  by  Colonel  Tom  Mather, 
the  then  Adjutant  General  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  who,  at  the 
suggestion  of  Governor  Yates,  had  given  Captain  Grant 
employment  for  a  limited  period  in  his  office,  where  Grant  was 
occupying  a  small  table  in  one  corner  of  the  office,  where  his 
principal  occupation  was  framing  and  copying  orders,  ruling 
blanks  and  other  clerical  work. 

During  the  several  days  I  was  at  Springfield,  L  met  and  conversed 
with  Captain  Grant  frequently.  He  gave  me  some  suggestions, 
information  and  advice  in  regard  to  the  arm  of  the  service  that  I 
was  about  to  engage  in,  asked  several  questions  in  regard  to  re 
cruiting  men  for  the  service  in  Chicago,  and  stated  that  he  would 
very  much  like  to  command  a  regiment  of  infantry,  and  that  he 
believed  he  was  capable  of  doing  so,  but  that  he  had  not  the 
acquaintance,  the  influence  or  the  necessary  funds  to  enable 
him  to  recruit  a  regiment  and  secure  a  colonelcy. 

A  few  days  later  he  was  assigned  to  duty  as  mustering  officer 
by  Governor  Yates  for  the  purpose  of  mustering  some  regiments 
into  the  State  service  that  had  been  raised  in  excess  of  those  called 
for  by  President  Lincoln.  Arid  on  the  l()th  of  .June,  he  was  appoin 
ted  colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Infantry,  and  three  years 
and  three  months  from  that  time  he  commanded  over  a  million 
men,  having  well  earned  and  received  the  most  rapid  advancement 
of  any  military  chieftain  in  the  world's  historv. 

General  Grant  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois 
Infantry  on  the  10t.h  of  June,  1X01,  his  commission  being  dated 

49 


June  15,  on  the  6th  day  of  August,  1861,  he  was  appointed  a 
brigadier-general,  and  his  commission  dated  from  the  17th  of 
May,  1861,  so  that  he  took  rank  as  a  brigadier-general  almost  a 
month  before  he  was  an  officer  in  the  service. 

The  reason  of  this  most  extraordinary  circumstance  was  that 
in  the  latter  part  of  July,  1861,  Governor  Richard  Vat.es  of  Illinois 
became  very  much  alarmed  regarding  the  situation  at  Cairo,  and 
in  Southern  Illinios.  The  Confederates  were  fortifying  and  making 
a  very  strong  position  on  the  bluffs  at  Columbus,  Kentucky  and 
had  established  a  strong  camp  at  Belmont,  Mo.,  but  a  few  miles 
below  Cairo,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  and  had  also  just  es 
tablished  a  camp  and  recruiting  station  at  Bird's  Point  directly 
opposite  Cairo,  on  the  Missouri  side,  and  were  recruiting  for  the 
Confederate  service  at  many  points  in  southern  Illinois;  at  Cen- 
tralia  several  hundred  men  were  reported  to  have  signed  the  muster 
rolls  for  service  in  the  Confederacy,  and  it  seemed  quite  apparent 
that  vigorous  action  would  be  necessary  to  save  Cairo  and  all 
Southern  Illinois  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Confederates. 

General  Grant  had  been  recommended  for  appointment  as  a 
brigadier-general  by  the  Illinois  delegation  m  Congress  and  on  the 
oth  of  August,  Governor  Vates  asked  President  Lincoln  by  tele 
graph  to  appoint  Colonel  Grant  a  brigadier-general  at  once,  to 
take  rank  from  May  17th,  the  object  being  that  he  should  take 
rank,  by  seniority,  over  Brigadier-general  Prentiss,  who  was  one 
of  the  first  appointments  to  that  rank  in  the  West,  and  Congress 
had  not  yet  passed  the  law  giving  the  President  authority  to  assign 
general  officers  to  commands  without  reference  to  date  of  coin- 
missions. 

The  next  day,  August  Oth,  President  Lincoln  telegraphed  Col. 
Grant's  appointment  to  date  from  May  17th,  and  on  this  telegram 
General  Grant  assumed  command  at  Cairo,  taking  rank  over  Gen, 
Prentiss,  and  at  once  sent  two  regiments  of  infantry  and  a  battery 
over  to  Bird's  Point  and  broke  up  the  Confederate  camp  there, 
and  soon  after  fought  the  battle  of  Belmont,  compelling  the  rebels 
to  evacuate  Columbus  —and  all  this  on  the  authority  of  the  Presi 
dent's  telegram,  before  lie  received  his  commission  as  brigadier 
general. 

I  have  no  knowledge  of  any  report  of  the  reason  ol  this  peculiar 
circumstance'  relatim;;  to  General  Grant's  appointment  as  a  briga 
dier  general,  or  of  his  breaking  up  the  Rebel  camp  nl  Bird's  Point 
ever. having' 'been  published. 


THE   CHANGE   WROUGHT  IN   A   LITTLE   OVER 
FOUR   YEARS. 

On  the  afternoon  of  April  25,  1861,  a  companv  of  infantry, 
eighty  strong,  commanded  by  (1apt.  A  L.  Chetlain,  left  Galena, 
111.,  for  Springfield,  the  State  Capitol.  Captain  T.  S.  Grant,  who 
had  assisted  Chetlain  in  recruiting  and  drilling  this  company, 
accompanying  it,  rather  poorly  clad  in  citi/en's  dress,  and  carrying 
a  small  carpet  bag  or  satchel  and  bearing  a  letter  from  Hon.  K.  H. 
Washburn  to  Governor  Richard  Vates,  statinir  that  the  bearer 
was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and  had  served  as  a  lieutenant  in 
the  Mexican  War,  and  afterward  as  a  captain  in  the  regular  army 
on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  recommending  him  for  appointment  to 
some  position  in  the  volunteer  service,  where  his  military  education 
and  experience  in  the  army  would  make  him  useful  to  the  State 
and  Country. 

On  arriving  at  Springfield,  Captain  Grant  presented  his  letter  to 
the  Governor,  who  after  reading  it,  looked  at  him  critically,  and 
with  seeming  indifference,  said  that  he  did  not  know  of  anything 
he  could  give  him  then,  but  that  the  Adjutant  General,  Col.  Mather, 
might  have  some  employment  for  him  in  his  office.  He  called  the 
next  day  and  was  introduced  to  the  Adjutant  General,  who  after 
some  conversation,  said  he  knew  of  no  employment  he  could  give 
him  except  it  was  some  clerical  work  in  the  office,  such  as  copying 
orders,  ruling  blanks,  etc.  Captain  Grant  replied  that  for  the  pres 
ent,  he  was  willing  to  make  himself  useful  in  any  way,  and  began 
work  at  once. 

At  the  end  of  four  days,  Grant  was  about  to  leave  in  disgust 
to  return  to  the  leather  store  of  J.  R.  Grant  i('  Co.,  at  Galena, 
but  was  dissuaded  from  doing  so  by  his  friend,  Capt.  Chetlain. 

THE  CONTRAST. 

On  the  2:->d  of  May,  1865,  a  sight  was  witnessed  at  the  Nation's 
capitol,  the  grandest  and  most  imposing  ever  seen  on  tins  conti 
nent.  Two  hundred  thousand  volunteer  soldiers  were  marshalled 
there,  the  remnants  of  the  grand  old  armies  of  the  Tennessee,  of 
the  Cumberland  and  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  to  pass  in  final 
review.  The  war  was  ended  and  these  veterans  were  soon  to 
return  to  their  homes.  These  invincible  armies,  now  merged  into 
one,  weary  and  worn  with  marching  and  fighting,  bronzed  by 
exposure,  benring  aloft  (lags  tittered  and  bullet  riddled,  with 

51 


uniforms  ragged  and  begrimed,  but  as  proud  an  army  of  liberty- 
loving  heroes  as  ever  trod  the  earth,  conscious  of  duty  well  done, 
all  were  exultant  and  happy. 

That  the  silent  and  unostentatious  soldier  in  the  uniform  of  a 
lieutenant-general,  who  stood  on  the  reviewing  stand,  by  the  side 
of  the  Nation's  chief  magistrate,  unmoved  by  the  magnificent  pag 
eant,  as  army  after  army  passe  1  in  review,  amid  the  shouts  of  the 
assembled  populace,  the  successful  commander  of  more  than  a 
million  men,  was  none  other  than  the  modest  and  obscure  man, 
who  only  a  little  over  four  years  before,  followed  a  company  of 
recruits  to  the  railway  station  in  the  little  village  of  Galena,  111., 
on  his  way  to  the  State  capitol,  humbly  seeking  some  position 
where  he  could  serve  the  country  he  loved  so  well,  seems  utterly 
incredible. 

The  history  of  the  world  shows  no  parallel  in  the  career  of  any 
man. 

SHERMAN'S   OPINION   OF   GRANT'S   POSITION 
IN    HISTORY. 

On  some  appropriate  occasion  a  few  months  after  General 
Grant's  death,  General  Sherman  was  invited  to  deliver  a  eulogy 
on  General  Grant,  in  New  York  City,  which  he  declined  to  do. 

A  short  time  afterward,  while  visiting  General  Sherman  in  Xew 
York  City,  I  asked  him  why  he  had  not  improved  the  opportunity 
of  paying  a  tribute1  to  the  memory  of  his  dead  friend,  to  which  he 
replied,  that  he  would  not  think  of  undertaking  to  pronounce 
a  eulogy  on  General  Grant;  that  there  was  not  a  man  living  capable 
of  pronouncing  a  proper  eulogy  on  General  Grant ;  that  he  believed 
that  General  Grant's  ability  and  military  genius  would  grow  with 
future  generations,  and  that  it  would  be  a  thousand  years  before 
his  greatness  would  be  fully  appreciated  and  understood  so  as  to 
give  him  his  proper  standing  and  position  in  history. 

GENERAL   GRANT'S   RAPID   PROMOTION 
CREATES  JEALOUSY. 

General  Grant  having  left  the  army  under  circumstances  not 
deemed  entirely  creditable,  and  having  entered  the  service  at  the 
commencement  of  the  rebellion  from  civil  life,  and  being  rapidly 
promoted  over  officers  who  had  served  continuously  and  credit 
ably  in  the  army  and  had  been  awarded  a  higher  standing  a-  cadets 
at  West  Point  than  General  Grant,  aroused  a  feel  ing  of  envv.  re- 


sentment  and  jealousy  that  caused  all  his  acts  to  be  criticized  and 
he  was  awarded  scant  credit  for  his  great  achievements,  so  that  he 
has  not  yet  been  granted  the  exalted  standing  in  the  world's 
estimation  that  his  great  achievements  and  genius  entitled  him  to. 
For  these  same  reasons  he  was  not  always  accorded  the  zealous 
support  of  other  officers  deemed  so  essential  to  the  success  of  a 
commanding  general,  and  his  requirements  of  men  and  material 
were  frequently  less  heeded  by  the  Government  at  Washington 
than  the  requisitions  of  more  favored  commanders  in  the  east. 

It  would  seem  impossible  to  produce  stronger  proof  of  General 
Grant's  great  ability  than  the  simple  fact  that  notwithstanding 
these  adverse  circumstances,  he  gained  twenty-seven  substantial 
victories  without  a  single  reverse  before  being  called  east  to 
command  all  the  armies. 

The  many  times  that  the  services  of  General  Grant  were  saved 
to  his  country  when  they  appeared  certain  of  being  lost,  seems  like 
an  interposition  of  Providence. 

After  accompanying  the  troops  that  he  had  assisted  in  organizing 
at  Galena  to  Springfield,  and  finding  no  position  except  clerical 
duties  for  a  few  days  in  the  Adjutant-General's  office,  he  was  about 
to  return  to  the  leather  store  at  Galena,  disheartened  and  dis 
gusted,  when  General  Chetlain,  then  commanding  the  Galena 
Company,  induced  him  to  remain  a  few  days,  during  which  time, 
by  an  unforseen  incident,  the  mustering  officer  on  duty  at  Spring 
field  was  called  to  other  duty  and  Governor  Yates  appointed 
Captain  Grant  to  muster  some  regiments  into  the  state  service 
that  had  been  recruited  in  excess  of  the  number  called  for  by  Pres 
ident  Lincoln. 

While  on  duty  as  State  Mustering  Officer,  General  Grant  had 
applied  to  the  War  Department  for  some  position,  and  to  Briga 
dier  General  Geo.  B.  McClellan  at  Cincinnati  for  a  staff  position, 
his  duties  as  mustering  officer  being  completed,  and  receiv 
ing  no  answer  whatever  from  the  War  Department,  and 
no  encouragement  from  General  McClellan,  he  was  about 
returning  to  Galena,  when  another  entirely  unforseen 
event  occurred  that  retained  him  in  the  service.  The 
call  for  300,000  men  by  President  Lincoln  for  three  years,  service 
brought  the  regiments  that  had  been  organized  by  the  State  of 
Illinois  into  requisition.  The  Colonel  that  had  been  elected  by 
one  of  these  regiments  proved  so  incompetent,  and  in  every  \vay 
so  unfit  for  the  position,  that  the  men  in  the  regiment  refused  to 

53 


serve  under  him,  and  his  services  were  summarily  dispensed  with. 
.41  though -composed  01  a  splendid  body  of  men,  during  this  period 
of  misrule  the  regiment  had  become  very  much  demoralized  and 
insubordinate.  Governor  Yates  was  much  perplexed  and  at  a 
loss  what  to  do,  when  at  the  suggestion  of  his  aid-de-camp,  Col. 
McCre'lish,  on  the  l()th  of  June,  1861,  he  offered  the  colonelcy 
to  ('apt.  Grant,  who  at  once  accepted  the  position.  The  regiment 
was  mustered  as  the  21st  111.  Infantry,  and  under  Colonel  Grant 
was  soon  brought  to  a  degree  of  drill  and  discipline  equal  to  any 
troops  in  the  service. 

On  the  6th  day  of  August,  1861,  Colonel  Grant  was  appointed  a 
Brigadier-General,  his  commission  dating  from  the  17th  day  of 
May  previous.  Brigadier-General  Ben  Prentiss  held  a  commission 
bearing  the  same  date  and  his  commission  was  issued  firsthand  as  he 
had  been  some  time  on  duty  as  a  Brigadier-General  before  Grant's 
appointment,  he  claimed  seniority  by  reason  of  former  superior 
rank.  Both  had  served  in  the  Mexican  War  where  Grant  held 
superior  rank,  and  on  that  account  claimed  precedence  the  same 
as  Prentiss  did,  by  reason  of  former  superior  rank.  By  a  chance 
apparently  as  uncertain  as  the  throw  of  a  dice,  the  decision  wTas 
made  in  General  Grunt's  favor,  which  gave  him  command  of  the 
District  of  Southeast  Missouri,  which  included  Cairo  and  Southern 
lllinios,  and  enabled  him  to  commence  his  career  of  victory. 

While  in  command  at  Cairo  soon  after  the  seizure  of  Paduca, 
General  Grant  planned  to  visit  Cape  Girardeau  to  inspect  the  troops 
there.  His  intention  becoming  known  to  the  Confederates,  the 
steamer  that  he  was  supposed  to  be  on  board  of  was  stopped  at  a 
point  about  twenty  miles  above  Cairo  by  a  section  of  artillery, 
with  supporting  infantry  under  Major  Barrett,  who  had  been  a 
St.  Louis  acquaintance  and  friend  of  General  Grant's  before  the 
War.  Something  had  occurred  vast  as  General  Grant  was  about  to 
go  on  the  boat  that  caused  him  to  defer  his  trip. 

At  the  termination  of  the  Battle  oi  Beimont,  on  the  7th  da}7  of 
November.  1X61,  the  Ur.ion  i'oives  being  hard  pressed  by  superior 
numbers  of  fresh  troops  from  Columbus,  hastily  boarded  their 
transports,  which  moved  out  in  the  stream  leaving  General  Grant 
(who  wras  alone  in  a  cornfield  wTatching  the  movements  of  the 
enemy).  As  he  came  to  the  river,  the  last  boat  wTas  some  15  feet 
from  the  shore.  The  captain  seeing  General  Grant,  had 
a  gang  plank  shoved  out,  and  the  General's  horse 
with  almost  human  intelligence,  slid  down  the  steep 

54 


bank  and  went  over  the  single  gang  plank  onto  the 
boat.  The  Rebels  at  once  opened  fire  on  the  transports. 
General  Grant,  dismounting  and  going  into  the  Captain's  room 
adjoining  the  pilot  house,  sat  down  for  a  moment,  and  then  arose 
hastily  and  went  out  on  the  upper  deck;  he  had  just  left  his  seat, 
when  a  ball  passed  through  the  room  precisely  in  range  of  where 
his  head  had  been  but  a  second  before. 

During  the  advance  on  Corinth,  when  General  Grant  was  ignored 
and  treated  with  contempt  by  General  Halleck,  who  seemed 
determined  to  drive  him  from  the  service,  until  General  Grant, 
feeling  that  he  could  endure  it  no  longer,  had  his  camp  desk  and 
baggage  packed  and  loaded  in  an  ambulance  ready  to  start  for 
Pittsburg  Landing  to  take  a  steamer  north,  when  he  was  induced 
to  defer  such  action  by  the  earnest  intercession  of  (Jeneral 
Sherman. 

During  the  siege  of  Vicksburgh,  General  Grant  was  hampered 
and  delayed  by  impracticable  orders  from  General  Halleck,  who 
at  the  same  time  joined  with  others  in  plotting  against  him,  and 
clamoring  for  his  removal,  until  such  a  pressure  was  brought  to 
bear  on  President  Lincoln  that  he  finally  consented  to  the  issuance 
of  an  order  for  Grant's  removal,  which  was  entrusted  to  Mr. 
Dana,  Assistant  Secretary  of  War  to  be  delivered  to  General 
Grant  in  person,  if  Vicksburgh  was  not  captured  by  a  certain  date . 
Mr.  Dana  arrived  at  Vicksburgh  on  the  afternoon  of  July  1st, 
1863,  and  the  next  day  General  Pemberton  proposed  t<>  surrender 
the  Rebel  stronghold.  This  ended  all  attacks  of  this  character 
on  General  Grant. 

GRANT  AS  A  TACTICIAN 

General  Grant's  strategy  at  Vicksburgh  in  running  past  the 
enemy's  batteries  as  soon  as  he  received  permission  from  President 
Lincoln  to  proceed  with  the  siege  according  to  his  own  judgment, 
stands  without  parallel  in  the  annals  of  modern  warfare.  As  soon 
as  he  was  free  from  Halleck's  impracticable  orders  he  disclosed  his 
plans  to  General  Sherman,  who  deemed  the  movement  so  hazardous 
that  he  protested  against  it. 

When  General  Grant  went  east  to  assume  command  of  all  the 
Union  armies  and  to  personally  direct  the  operations  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  the  men  in  that  army  used  to  say,  "  But  Grant 
has  never  met  Bob,"  meaning  General  Robert  E.  Lee. 

55 


At  the  Wilderness  General  Grant  encountered  General  Lee 
under  circumstances  most  favorable  for  Lee,  and  still  the  result 
was  so  disastrous  to  him  that  he  never  attacked  Grant  again,  hut 
always  after  fought  on  the  defensive. 

General  Grant's  tactics  following  the  Battle  of  the  Wilderness 
until  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  at  Appomattox  are  hardly 
susceptible  of  successful  criticism,  he  not  only  compelled  the 
enemy  to  surrender,  but  prevented  them  from  escaping  and 
scattering,  thereby  undoubtedly  saving  the  country  many  years 
of  guerrilla  warfare. 

MY   LAST   MEETING  WITH  GEN.  GRANT. 

Arriving  in  Washington  from  the  West,  in  July,  1S6S,  I  met 
General  J.  W.  Denver,  then  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  in 
Washington,  who  had  succeeded  General  Sherman  in  command 
of  the  5th  Division  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  on  whose 
staff  I  had  served  as  Chief  of  Artillery,  and  it  was  arranged  that 
we  together  would  call  on  General  Grant  that  evening.  L  had 
not  met  General  Grant  since  he  had  left  the  West  and  gone  East 
to  assume  command  of  all  the  armies.  When  we  arrived  at  General 
Grant's  residence,  he  was  oat  driving  and  his  family  were  absent 
at  some  place  of  resort  in  \Vestern  Wirginia,  but  wre  were  received 
by  his  mother,  who  seated  us  in  the  library  to  await  his  return. 

Genera]  Grant  soon  arrived.  As  he  had  become  so  renowned, 
and  had  recently  been  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  L  felt  some 
apprehension  that  he  might  not  fully  remember  all  the  boys  who 
had  roughed  it  with  him  in  the  West  during  the  early  days  of  the 
War,  but,  as  soon  as  he  saw  me,  he  came  forward  at  once,  extend 
ing  both  hands,  and  a  brother,  from  whom  I  had  long  been  absent, 
could  not  have  greeted  me  more  cordially. 

As  soon  as  we  were  seated,  he  commenced  asking  me  a  great 
many  questions  regarding  matters  at  Memphis  and  occurrences 
in  the  Western  Army  after  he  left,  and  told  me  many  things  re 
garding  himself  and  events  in  the  Eastern  Army,  speaking  par 
ticularly  of  the  excellency  of  the  Eastern  soldiers,  and  how  much 
better  he  had  found  them  than  he  had  anticipated. 

Before  I  was  awrarc  of  the  lapse  of  time,  the  hour  of  midnight 
approached,  and  as  we  arose  to  leave,  General  Grant  invited  me  to 
come  to  his  headquarters  the  next  morning  at  9  o'clock,  saying  he 
desired  to  talk  further  with  me. 

56 


He  had  not  mentioned  his  recent  nomination  for  the  Presidency, 
which  I  presumed  might  have  been  attributed  to  the  presence  of 
General  Denver,  who  was  a  prominent  Democrat,  and  had  taken 
quite  an  active  part  in  politics  since  lie  had  left  the  army. 

At  9  o'clock  the  next  morning,  1  sent  a  card  in  by 
the  orderly  at  General  Grant's  headquarters.  The  General 
came  and  met  me  at  the  door,  and  telling  the  orderly 
to  admit  no  one,  led  the  way  to  his  private  office.  As 
soon  as  we  were  seated,  he  asked  almost  abruptly  what 
I  thought  of  his  being  a  candidate  for  President.  I  was, 
of  course,  surprised  at  the  question,  but  after  a  moment's  hesitation 
I  replied  that  it  occurred  to  me  that  he  could  only  determine  that 
question  for  himself,  independent  of  any  one's  advice;  that  1  pre 
sumed  he  would  surely  be  elected  by  a  big  majority  and  would 
certainly  make  a  good  president  and  leave  a  record  that  he  would 
have  no  cause  to  regret,  but  I  presumed  it  possible  that  General 
Grant  might  fill  a  prominent  page  in  history  after  President  Grant 
had  been  forgotten.  He  said  that  the  idea  of  being  President,  or 
a  candidate  for  President,  was  very  repulsive  to  him,  that  he  had 
rather  go  up  above  Georgetown  and  rent  a  piece  of  ground  and 
start  a  market  garden  for  a  living  if  he  could  have  his  choice; 
that  ever  since  Yicksburgh,  the  politicians  had  been  urging  him 
to  become  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  but  that  he  had  never 
heeded  their  suggestions,  but  now  a  million  men  who  had  served 
under  his  command  were  urging  it  and  it  was  hard  for  him  to 
refuse  their  request. 

The  General  expressed  regret  that  I  had  not  seen  fit  to  accept 
the  colonelcy  of  one  of  the  new  regiments  in  the  regular  Army 
that  had  been  offered  me  in  February ,  1866.  He  then  inquired 
if  I  would  desire  a  civil  appointment  in  case  he  was  elected ,  men 
tioning  two  or  three  desirable  positions.  I  answered  that  I  did 
not  at  present  think  I  would  wish  to  have  any  appointment. 

I  then  told  him  that  1  had  been  informed  that  the  Sergeant- 
at-Arms  of  the  House  of  Representatives  had  sent  inquiries  for 
me  to  Chicago  and  Memphis ,  that  Ben  Butler  desired  to  have  me 
subpoenaed  as  a  witness  in  the  impeachment  trial  of  Andy  Johnson ; 
then  going  on ,  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  turning  over  the  railroads 
in  the  southwest  by  the  military  authorities  to  their  owners ,  in 
which  Johnson  had  ordered  a  large  sum  of  money  paid  to  Col. 
Sam  Tate ,  President  of  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad , 
in  direct  violation  of  the  contract  and  agreement  which  1  had 

57 


drawn,  it  being  charged  that  President  Johnson  had  derived 
benefit  from  this  payment. 

General  Grant  stated  that  he  recollected  Col.  Sam  Tate  coining 
to  his  headquarters  at  City  Point,  for  his  approval  of  the  papers 
in  the  matter,  and  he  had  heard  talk  of  the  payments  since  the 
impeachment  trial  had  been  going  on.  Then  at  his  request  1  gave 
him  a  complete  history  of  the  entire  transaction,  and  asked  his 
advice  in  regard  to  offering  myself  as  a  witness  in  the  case.  He 
advised  me  in  quite  positive  terms  not  to  do  so,  stating  that  he 
did  not  believe  that  Johnson  received  any  of  the  money,  but  his 
having  been  induced  to  order  payment  after  it  had  been  agreed 
that  the  railroad  company  should  present  no  claim  for  use  or 
damage  to  their  railroads ,  might  be  construed  to  his  disadvantage, 
and  he  did  not  think  any  good  result  would  be  likely  to  follow  the 
impeachment  of  President  Johnson,  and  it  might  result  in  serious 
harm. 

I  then  told  General  Grant  that  some  months  previously,  having 
become  quite  intimately  acquainted  with  General  Hancock's 
brother ,  he  had  told  me ,  when  in  a  confidential  mood ,  that  General 
Hancock  had  received  a  letter  at  New  Orleans  from  President 
Johnson,  stating  that  it  was  his  intention  to  order  him  to  come 
and  take  command  at  Washington ,  as  he  believed  it  was  the  pur 
pose  of  Congress  to  impeach  him,  and  if  they  did  he  proposed  to 
put  them  all  in  irons ,  and  wanted  some  one  in  command  that  he 
could  depend  on. 

General  Grant  said  that  when  Johnson  had  ordered  General 
Augur  sent  to  New  York  and  Hancock  placed  in  command  at 
Washington  ,  he  had  suspected  some  such  design ,  but  did  not  think 
that  it  would  succeed  in  any  event. 

General  Rawlins  told  me  afterwards  that  General  Grant  had 
provided  for  just  such  a  contingency  ,  and  that  if  Johnson  had  been 
impeached  and  Hancock  had  ordered  any  interference  with  Con 
gress  by  the  military  forces,  that  his  orders  would  not  have  been 
obeyed  by  the  subordinate  officers ,  but  that  they  would  have 
received  orders  direct  from  General  Grant. 

As  I  was  about  to  leave  General  Grant,  I  told  him  that  I  con 
templated  going  to  California.  On  bidding  him  goodbye ,  he  said 
if  he  was  elected  President  and  there  was  anything  I  desired  that 

58 


it  was  in  his  power  to  grant,  to  let  him  know ,  but  I  never  felt  in 
clined  to  avail  myself  of  his  kind  suggestion. 

General  Hadeau  stated  in  substance  that  General  Grant  came  to 
favor  the  impeachment  of  President  Johnson  after  a  time.  In 
this  matter  he  was  surely  mistaken ,  as  General  Grant  expressed 
himself  to  me  on  this  subject  in  very  positive  terms. 


General  William  Tecumseh  Sherman. 


GENERAL  SHERMAN,  who  was  pronounced  by  General 
Grant  the  greatest  soldier  living; ,  and  who  constituted  the 
second  figure  in  the  grandest  triumvirate  of  military  geniuses  that 
the  world  ever  produced ,  descended  from  a  race  of  men  who 
left  England  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  for  the  purpose 
of  divorcing  church  from  state ,  and  came  to  America  to  wrest  a 
wilderness  from  a  savage  race  and  build  up  homes  where  they 
might  be  free  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
own  consciences ,  and  who  would  suffer  martyrdom  rather  than 
believe  that  the  king's  ways  were  God's  wrays. 

His  ancestors  had  been  noted  for  many  generations  for  their 
culture ,  ability  and  intellectual  powers.  From  his  Puritan  fore 
fathers  ,  he  undoubtedly  inherited  his  rigid  ideas  and  strict  prin 
ciples.  He  despised  a  coward, and  had  no  patience  with  anything 
false  or  dishonest.  A  person  who  was  disloyal  to  his  country  he 
looked  upon  as  one  unworthy  to  live  and  who  should  be  destroyed. 

General  Sherman  graduated  from  the  military  academy  in  1840 
at  the  age  of  twenty  years  ,near  the  head  of  his  class ,  being  especial 
ly  proficient  in  engineering.  His  first  duty  was  in  the  Indian  wars 
in  Florida ,  at  the  termination  of  which  he  accompanied  an  ex 
pedition  to  escort  some  of  the  Indian  tribes  to  their  new  homes  on 
the  western  plains  and  at  that  time  passed  over  a  portion  of  the 
route  travelled  in  his  march  to  the  sea, so  that  he  became  familiar 
with  the  topography  and  resources  of  the  country. 

While  a  lieutenant ,  he  followed  the  practice  of  army  engineers 
of  mapping  the  country  through  which  he  marched ,  in  which  he 
became  very  expert ,  and  having  such  an  excellent  memory  that 
after  a  day's  march  he  was  able  to  sit  down  and  make  a  map  cover 
ing  the  entire  distance ,  giving  all  roads ,  streams ,  fields ,  fences  and 
forests.  It  is  probable  that  no  other  person  ever  possessed  so 
complete  a  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  this  entire  country  as 
he ,  no  section  could  be  mentioned  that  he  was  not  able  to  give  a 

60 


more  or  less  detailed  description  of,  with  its  topography ,  resources 
and  capabilities. 

His  power  of  memory  was  most  remarkable ,  an  illustration  of 
which  was  given  early  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburgh.  The  Mississippi 
River  was  at  a  high  stage  and  it  was  desired  to  get  some  gunboats 
over  the  bar  into  the  Yaxoo  River,  but  none  of  the  pilots  present 
were  able  to  state  the  depth  of  water  on  the  bar  at  the  prevailing 
stage  of  the  river,  when  General  Sherman  stated  the  depth  that 
there  should  be ,  which  proved  to  be  quite  accurate.  That  he  should 
know  better  than  the  pilots  excited  curiosity,  and  on  being  inter 
rogated,  he  stated  that  some  thirteen  years  previously  he  had 
passed  up  the  river  on  a  cotton  boat  that  ran  into  the  mouth  of 
the  Yazoo  after  cotton  ,  when  the  river  was  at  about  the  same  stage 
and  that  lie  stood  on  the  bow  of  the  boat  and  remembered  the  depth 
of  water  that  the  man  called  who  was  heaving  the  lead. 

Another  illustration  of  General  Sherman's  remarkable  memory 
occurred  in  Georgia,  while  on  the  march  to  the  sea.  In  an  aban 
doned  cotton  field  near  the  road  where  General  Sherman  was 
passing,  an  old  white  mule  was  grazing.  After  observing  it  quite 
intently,  the  General  asked  some  soldiers  to  drive  it  up  to  the  fence, 
which  being  done,  he  asked  a  soldier  who  had  a  ra/or  to  shave  the 
hair  off  its  shoulder  and  see  if  it  did  not  disclose  a  U.  S.  brand. 
The  brand  being  found,  he  stated  that  the  mule  had  been  in  his 
charge  when  he  was  Depot  Quartermaster  at  New  Orleans  at  the 
close  of  the  Mexican  War,  and  had  been  sold  with  others  to 
southern  planters,  the  statement  being  corroborated  by  the  resi 
dents  on  a  nearby  plantation. 

I  first  met  General  Sherman  on  the  battlefield  at  Shiloh.  Mou- 
ton's  Battery  dashed  across  an  old  cotton  field  under  a  hot  fire, 
and  occupied  and  held  a  position  from  which  another  battery  had 
been  compelled  to  retire.  As  soon  as  we  commenced  firing,  General 
Sherman  rode  up  and  sat  on  his  horse  beside  me  at  the  left  of  the 
Battery  and  watched  the  effect  of  our  shot,  praising  our  accuracy 
of  aim,  and  rapidity  of  firing.  While  sitting  there  beside  me,  he 
received  a  wound  by  a  minnie  ball  passing  through  the  palm  of  his 
right  hand.  Drawing  a  handkerchief  from  his  pocket  and  wrapping 
it  around  the  injured  hand,  he  thrust  it  inside  the  breast  of  his 
coat,  scarcely  taking  his  eyes  from  the  point  in  the  enemy's  line 
where  our  shot  were  taking  effect. 

My  Mattery  had  not  yet  been  assigned  to  any  division  and  our 
Colonel.  J.  D.  Webster,  Chief  of  General  Grunt's  staff,  had  been 

61 


approving  my  requisitions  for  rations,  forage  and  all  needed  sup 
plies.  In  the  confusion  resulting  from  the  battle,  I  did  not  know 
where  to  find  Colonel  Webster,  so  I  went  to  General  Sherman 
with  requisitions,  and  explaining  the  situation,  asked  him  to 
approve  them;  his  wounded  right  hand  being  bound  up,  he  signed 
his  name  with  a  pencil  in  his  left  hand,  without  reading  them, 
saying,  "I  will  give  you  anything  you  want." 

The  exigencies  of  the  service  having  brought  me  in  contact  with 
General  Sherman  on  the  battlefield  at  Shiloh,  I  served  with  him 
almost  four  years  without  the  formality  of  any  order  assigning 
me  to  his  command  ,  our  relations  becoming  of  a  very  cordial  nature 
and  so  continuing  to  the  time  of  his  death.  Both  of  his  horses 
having  been  killed  at  Shiloh  and  he  left  virtually  dismounted, 
I  presented  him  a  strawberry  roan  mare,  which  he  named  Dolly, 
and  became  very  much  attached  to  and  rode  until  nearly  the  close 
of  the  war. 

General  Sherman's  Atlanta  campaign  was  undoubtedly  the  hard 
est  fought  campaign  of  the  war,  though  even  now  its  principal 
events  are  seldom  mentioned  and  seem  passing  from  memory, 
while  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea  will  live  in  song  and  story  long- 
after  contemporaneous  events  have  passed  from  memory.  Yet 
General  Sherman  stated  to  me  that  the  march  to  the  sea  was  the 
easiest  campaign  he  ever  made,  describing  it  as  a  regular  holiday 
picnic. 

While  I  was  with  General  Sherman  at  Memphis, Tenn.  ,in  August , 
1862,  he  received  a  statement  of  final  settlement  from  the  Second 
Auditor  at  Washington  of  his  accounts  as  Depot  Quartermaster 
disbursing  officer  and  purchasing  agent  of  the  Government  at 
Xew  Orleans  at  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War.  The  amount  in 
volved  in  the  settlement  was  between  four  and  five  million  dollars. 
The  Auditor  claimed  a  balance  due  the  Government  of  fifty  cents. 
General  Sherman  stated  that  he  knew  that  the  Auditor  was  mis 
taken,  but  preferred  paying  the  balance  to  going  over  the  accounts 
again,  so  he  remitted  the  fifty  cents. 

General  Sherman  expressed  his  views  very  freely  and  in  strong 
terms  against  the  free  admission  of  the  undesirable  class  of  immi 
grants  from  Europe  to  this  country.  When  Congress  passed  the 
Chinese  exclusion  act,  he  said  to  me,  "Xow  they  have  closed  the 
back  door,  they  had  better  shut  the  front  door." 

General  Sherman  as  a  colonel  commanded  a  brigade,  at  the  Battle 
of  Bull  Hun,  and  his  were  the  only  troops  that  retired  in  any  sem- 


blanee  of  good  order.  He  was  never  inclined  to  say  much  about 
Bull  Run,  until  one  Sunday  morning  in  June,  1862,  at  La  Grange, 
Tenn.,  his  appointment  as  a  major  general  having  been  confirmed 
by  the  Senate,  he  had  just  received  and  donned  a  major-general's 
uniform  and  as  we  were  sitting  around  his  headquarters  tent ,  he 
appearing  in  excellent  humor,  at  the  request  of  some  of  his  staff 
officers,  he  gave  us  a  pretty  full  description  of  the  battle,  telling- 
how  green  and  inexperienced  they  were  on  both  sides,  and  how  at 
one  time  both  armies  became  panic  stricken  and  were  running 
away  from  the  battlefield,  but  that  the  Confederates  recovered 
from  fright  first ,  returned  and  held  the  field  which  entitled  them 
to  claim  a  victory. 

He  expressed  the  opinion  that  he  could  take  one  of  his  present 
brigades  and  whip  either  army  as  they  were  at  Bull  Run,  and  that 
if  Beauregard  had  followed  up  his  advantage,  he  could  easily 
have  captured  Washington.  He  said  he  expected  that  they  would 
all  be  cashiered  for  making  such  a  failure  at  Bull  Run,  and  was 
much  surprised  on  being  promoted  instead.  Fully  appreciating 
the  disadvantages  of  having  a  command  in  the  east  where  poli 
tics  had  much  to  do  with  controlling  military  operations,  he  asked 
to  be  sent  west.  He  had  this  in  veiw  when  General  Grant  said  to 
him  at  the  surrender  of  Vicksburgh  that  he  had  received  a  tele 
gram  indicating  that  one  of  them  would  soon  have  to  go  east  to 
command  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  when  Sherman  stated  that  he 
would  be  put  in  irons  before  he  would  go,  "without  they  would 
move  the  Capital  out  west.1' 

It  was  always  a  subject  of  regret  to  General  Sherman  that  his 
fnmily  were  so  devoted  to  a  religious  belief  that  he  himself  could 
not  fully  subscribe  to.  He  talked  with  me  many  times  on  this  sub 
ject,  and  stated  that  he  had  given  a  great  deal  of  thought  and 
study  to  the  subject  of  religion,  and  s-ud  that  there  was  no  church 
whose  creed  and  belief  fully  conformed  to  his  views,  but  that 
the  Episcopal  (1hurch  came  the  nearest  of  any. 

The  Sunday  following  our  arrival  in  the  city  of  Memphis  in  July  . 
1862,  the  General  and  most  of  his  staff  officers  attended  the 
leading  Kpiscopal  church  in  the  city  .the  minister  of  which  omitted 
the  prayer  for  the  President  of  the  United  States,  when  General 
Sherman  at  once  arose  and  in  a  clear,  strong  tone  of  voice  repeated 
the  prayer.  The  next  morning  he  sent  an  'orderly  with  a  note 
to  the  pastor,  stating  that  a  repot  it  ion  of  that  omission  would  be 
deemed  sufficient  cause  for  sending  a  file  of  soldiers  to  close  the 
church. 

63 


General  Sherman  had  taken  great  interest  in  reading  and  learn 
ing  all  possible  to  be  learned  regarding  Jesus  Christ,  and  told  me 
more  regarding  Christ's  deeds , character  .looks  and  disposition  than 
I  ever  learned  from  other  sources. 

Few  men  possess  so  generous  or  kindly  a  disposition  as  did 
General  Sherman,  his  greatest  desire  seemed  to  be  to  serve  his 
friends  and  aid  those  in  need  of  assistance.  Since  the  close  of 
the  war,  I  never  met  him  or  received  a  letter  from  him,  that  he 
did  not  ask  wherein  he  could  serve  me,  or  express  a  desire  to  do 
a  favor. 

Xot  long  before  his  death  we  spent  several  days  together,  when 
he  showed  me  do/ens  of  letters  that  he  was  receiving  nearly  every 
day  from  old  soldiers  or  their  families  asking  assistance,  and  few 
\vhom  he  knew  to  be  worthy  applied  in  vain.  He  told  me  at  this 
time  that  he  made  it  a  rule  to  set  aside  one-third  of  his  pay  each 
month  to  be  given  away,  but  usually  before  the  month  was  ended 
the  amount  was  more  likely  to  represent  two-thirds  than  one.  He 
educated  several  poor  boys  who  were  sons  of  army  comrades  en 
tirely  at  his  own  cost  and  expense.  By  Act  of  Congress,  General 
Sherman  was  retired  with  full  rank,  pay,  emoluments  and  allow 
ances,  being  the  only  case  in  which  this  has  been  done  since  the 
organization  of  this  Government,  his  total  pay  and  allowances 
amounting  to  some  fifteen  hundred  dollars  each  month. 

The  magnificent  catafalque ,  escorted  by  a  grand  pageant ,  bear 
ing  the  mighty  dead  to  a  final  resting  place  may  arouse  the  grief 
of  a  nation,  but  when  an  artillery  caisson  rumbled  over  the  pave 
ments  of  St.  Louis,  on  a  bleak  February  morning  in  1891  ,  bearing 
to  its  place  of  repose  beside  the  wife  he  loved  so  well ,  and  the  son 
he  so  adored,  the  mortal  remains  of  that  magnificent  soldier, 
worthy  citizen,  grand  patriot,  affectionate  husband  and  loving 
father,  William  Tecumseh  Sherman,  it  drew  tears  from  the  eyes 
of  millions  and  carried  with  it  the  hearts  of  all  who  were  so  for 
tunate  as  to  know  intimately,  that  noble  character  whose  life 
work  was  ended. 


64 


Recollections  of  an  Old  Veteran. 


HHK  story  of  the  War  for  the  I'liion  will  never  be  told  until 
*•  the  individual  experiences  of  those  who  bared  their  breasts 
in  their  country's  defence  have  been  given  full  scope.  Xo  em 
bellishment  of  the  wildest  fancy  can  ever  be  made  to  do  the  sub 
ject  full  justice — the  story  cannot  be  made  greater  than  the 
truth. 

There  is  living  in  Los  Angeles,  California,  a  gentleman  who  be 
came  famous  as  a  commander  of  colored  troops.  I  refer  to  Briga 
dier  General  Kdward  Bout  on.  When  1  first  knew  him  he  was  a 
captain  in  the  1st  111.  Artillery ,  and  was  commander  of  Bouton's 
famous  Chicago  Battery.  If  he  could  be  induced  to  relate  the  story 
of  his  personal  adventures  it  would  make  a  very  interesting  volume. 

Karly  in  1SG3 ,  Captain  Bouton  was  chief  of  Artillery  of  General 
Sherman's  old  division  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  then  com 
manded  by  (ieneral  William  Sooey  Smith.  When  the  Division 
moved  from  La  Grange,  Tenn.,  for  the  purpose  of  starting  Briga- 
dier-General  Benjamin  II.  (Irierson  on  his  great  cavalry  raid 
through  to  Baton  Rouge,  La. ,  Grierson  left  the  main  column  by 
an  obscure  road  through  a  creek  bottom,  heavily  timbered  and 
thick  with  underbrush,  taking  a  southwesterly  course,  while  the 
main  column  continued  on  the  direct  road  for  the  purpose  of  mis 
leading  the  Confederate  scouts,  in  which  t  hey  succeeded  so  well 
that  ( Irierson 's  departure  was  not  discovered  until  he  had  been 
three  days  on  his  way. 

Captain  Bouton, accompanied  by  his  faithful  orderly,  Robert 
Heckles,  usually  accompanied  the  advance  guard  when  the 
Division  was  on  the  march,  and  frequently  exchanged  shots 'with, 
and  sometimes  gave  chase  to  the  detachments  of  Rebel  scouts  ,  who 
were  continually  hovering  about  the  front  of  the  column  and 
watching  its  movements. 

The  next  day  alter  Crierson's  command  left  the  column,  they 
encountered  a  party  of  five  well  mounted  Confederates.  Bouton 

65 


and  Heckles  exchanged  shots  with  them  at  long  range,  and  finally 
emptied  one  of  the  Confederate  saddles,  when  they  immediately 
gave  chase ,  and  after  a  running  fight  of  two  or  three  miles ,  they 
killed  another  Rebel  and  captured  two  others, whom  they  brought 
back  to  the  column  as  prisoners  of  war.  Among  the  arms  they 
captured  was  a  very  fine  gold  and  pearl  mounted  revolver. 

After  the  departure  of  General  Grierson ,  the  5th  Division  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee  being  left  without  cavalry ,  General  Smith 
decided  to  mount  two  regiments  of  infantry ,  the  6th  Iowa  and  46th 
Ohio.  Saddles  and  horse  equipments  were  obtained  from  St.  Louis 
but  horses  not  being  immediately  obtainable  Captain  Bouton  was 
ordered  to  send  out  detachments  of  mounted  men  from  the  bat 
teries  under  his  command  ,  and  gather  all  suitable  animals  through 
out  the  country  ,  Bouton  frequently  taking  command  of  one  of  these 
expeditions. 

One  day  while  in  command  of  one  of  these  detachments  ,  consist 
ing  of  80  or  90  men  ,  near  Moscow  ,  Tenn. ,  an  officer  in  Confederate 
uniform  was  seen  to  emerge  from  a  house  some  eighty  rods  in  front 
of  the  column  ,  mount  his  horse  and  ride  hastily  away. 

Several  men  started  after  him,  but  he  being  mounted  on  a  very 
fleet  animal,  left  them  rapidly.  Some  of  the  artillerymen  recog 
nized  in  the  Confederate  officer  a  noted  guerrilla  leader.,  who  by 
his  frequent  raids  along  the  line  of  the  Memphis  &  Charleston 
Railroad  ,  often  firing  into  and  sometimes  capturing  trains  ,  forced 
the  Government  to  maintain  several  thousand  soldiers  along  the 
line  between  Memphis  and  Grand  Junction.  Only  a  short  time 
before  he  had  attacked  a  train  on  winch  was  General  Sherman  and 
staff ,  and  was  only  beaten  off  by  the  stubborn  resistance  of  General 
Sherman's  Headquarters  Guard  from  the  13th  T.  S.  Infantry. 

Bouton  being  mounted  on  a  magnificent  powerful  thoroughbred 
horse  that  was  noted  as  a  long  distance  runner  at  once  gave  chase. 

The  road  where  we  were  was  narrow  and  badly  washed  out,  and 
by  the  time  Bouton  got  past  us,  where  he  had  a  clear  course,  the 
flying  Confederate  was  a  mile  away.  It  was  only  a  few  minutes 
before  it  was  apparent  that  Bouton  was  gaining  on  him,  and  soon 
we  saw  the  flash  and  heard  the  repot  of  his  navy  revolver. 

The  Confederate  turned  in  his  saddle  and  returned  Bout  on 's 
compliment,  but  his  horse  was  evidently  failing,  and  as  Bouton's 
kept  closing  the  gap,  shots  were  exchanged  rapidly  between  them. 
Finally  as  the  Confederate  attempted  to  turn  into  a  narrow  road 
way  in  a  piece'  of  timber,  lie  fell  from  his  saddle,  his  horse  ran  a  few 

66 


rods  further  and  stopped.  The  rider  had  received  a  fatal  wound 
in  the  small  of  his  back.  It  was  an  exciting-  and  desperate  conflict. 
We  soon  caught  the  horse,  a  beautiful  thoroughbred  Morgan, 
that  was  said  never  to  have  been  beaten  in  a  quarter  or  half  mile 
race.  With  General  Smith's  permission,  Houton  presented  the 
animal  to  one  of  his  officers,  who  afterwards  became  Adjutant 
of  Bouton's  Brigade. 

In  the  summer  of  1S64,  when  the  Confederate  General  X.  H. 
Forrest  made  his  celebrated  dash  into  the  city  of  Memphis,  he 
found  Adjutant  A  very 's  horse  at  the  Gavoso  stables  and  took  him 
with  many  other  horses  belonging  to  Union  officers. 

Soon  after,  on  the  day  following  the  battle  of  Harrisonburgh , 
Bout  oil's  Brigade  had  a  fight  with  General  Forrest's  command  at 
Old  Town  Creek,  when  Forrest's  Adjutant  was  wounded  and  his 
horse  captured  by  our  men.  It  being  a  fine  animal,  Houton  pre 
sented  it  to  Adjutant  A  very  to  replace  the  one  taken  by  Forrest 
at  Memphis. 

We  afterwards  learned  that  General  Forrest  gave  A  very 's  horse 
to  his  Adjutant  to  replace  the  one  lost  at  Old  Town  Creek  ,  so  the 
two  adjutants  exchanged  horses,  without  either  being  a  party  to 
the  transaction. 

GUNTOWN. 

On  the  l()th  day  of  June,  1S64,  at  the  Battle  of  Guntown,  Miss. , 
Colonel  Houton.  commanding  a  Brigade  of  colored  troops ,  was 
in  reserve  guarding  a  long  wagon  train  and  did  not  reach  the  battle 
field  until  nearly  o  o'clock  P.  M.,  just  as  the  main  body  of  the  army 
under  General  S.  I).  Slurges  were  giving  way  at  all  points. 

Although  this  force  consisted  of  fully  SOOO  veteran  soldiers, 
whose  bravery  had  been  proven  on  many  a  well  fought  battlefield  , 
they  had  been  so  badly  handled,  having  been  whipped  in  detail, 
that  they  became  thoroughly  demoralized.  As  they  fell  back  in  a 
perfect  panic,  the  enemy  came  after  them  in  an  impetuous  rushing 
charge,  which  Houton's  command  was  just  in  time  to  meet  ,  and  by 
the  indomitable  pluck  and  skill  of  their  commander,  and  the  splen 
did  fighting  of  the  colored  soldiers,  although  outnumbered  nearly 
eight  to  one,  Houton's  Brigade  held  the  enemy  in  check  , only  giving 
way  inch  by  inch,  allowing  the  demoralized  white  troops  to  get 
away. 

Our  twenty-four  pieces  of  artillery  were  spiked  and  left  in 
a  swamp  and  nearly  all  t  he  ot  her  arms  and  munitions  of  war , except 

67 


those  of  Bout  on 's  command  and  a  portion  of  the  cavalry,  were 
abandoned  and  left  for  the  enemy. 

With  a  comrade  belonging  to  a  veteran  white  regiment ,  L  watched 
for  a  long  time  the  stubborn  resistance  of  Bouton's  men.  always  in 
order  as  they  would  fall  back  a  few  feet,  face  square  about  and 
deliver  their  deadly  volleys,  which  they  kept  up  from  3  P.  M.  until 
dark.  A  more  striking  illustration  of  what  can  be  accomplished 
by  thorough  drill  and  strict  discipline  could  not  well  be  furnished, 
as  most  of  these  men  were  ordinary  held  hands  on  cotton  planta 
tions  but  little  over  a  year  before. 

At  the  end  of  this  most  disastrous  day,  Bouton  gathered  all 
the  men  lie  had  left  able  for  duty,  some  four  hundred  and  fifty, 
and  defended  the  rear  of  General  St urges'  demoralized  army, 
and  held  the  Rebels,  some  eight  thousand  strong,  in  check,  from 
the  battlefield  to  Germaritown ,  near  Memphis,  some  eighty-one 
miles,  for  two  days  and  nights,  continually  under  fire,  constituting, 
as  has  been  very  appropriately  stated,  one  of  the  most  sublime 
examples  of  heroism  displayed  during  the  war.  General  Wash- 
burn  pronounced  this  one  of  the  most  heroic  deeds  recorded  in 
history. 

As  I  rode  past  the  demoralized  troops  from  the  battlefield  to 
Memphis,  1  failed  to  see  even  a  single  squad  maintaining  its  or 
ganization,  and  not  a  single  flng  was  to  be  seen,  and  scarcely  a 
man  had  retained  his  arms. 

Previous  to  this  time,  the  colored  troops  had  been  considered  as 
adapted  for  guard  and  fatigue  duty  only,  but  on  this  occasion 
the  white  troops  were  very  glad  that  they  were  between  themselves 
and  the  enemy. 

On  the  early  Sunday  morning  following  the  bloody  tenth  of  June  . 
I  saw  marching  into  and  through  the  streets  of  Memphis  the  rem 
nant  of  Bouton's  Brigade,  about  1200  strong,  with  colors  flying, 
under  perfect  alignment  ,  stepping  off  in  regular  time  to  the  rattle 
of  drum  and  shriek  of  fife,  some  of  them  hatless  and  barefooted, 
their  black  faces  shining  in  the  morning  sun,  the  proudest  lot  of 
Darkies  that  the  War  had  produced,  and  well  might  they  feel 
proud,  for  they  had  covered  themselves  with  glory. 

This  force  represented  the  remaining  effective  strength  of 
between  thirteen  and  fourteen  hundred  men  that  had  marched 
forth  some  ten  davs  previously. 

The  Confederates  fought  with  desperation  :il  Guntown ,  and  out 
numbering  Bouton's  command  so  greatly  ,  they  at  tempted  to  t  urn 


his  left  flank  and  surround  him,  to  prevent  which  he  took  same 
eighty  men  and  deployed  them  a.s  a  skirmish  line  from  his  left 
flank  back  to  the  rear.  While  so  engaged  a  battalion  of  Rebel 
cavalry  charged  upon  him  and  his  skirmishers,  of  whom  only 
twelve  escaped  jilive. 

Bouton  and  his  orderly  were  surrounded  by  some  thirty  or  forty 
of  the  enemy,  who  very  peremptorily  ordered  them  to  surrender, 
instead  of  doing  which  they  emptied  their  revolvers  at  their  oppon 
ents  at  very  close  range,  and  gave  spur  to  their  horses. 

Bouton  being  mounted  on  a  very  powerful  horse  was  able  to 
break  through  the  enemy,  followed  by  his  orderly ,  but  they  soon 
encountered  a  deep  wash  or  ravine,  with  perpendicular  banks. 
Bouton's  horse  made  a  tremendous  leap,  but  was  only  able  to  just 
catch  the  further  side,  Bouton  leaping  onto  the  bank,  and  his 
horse  falling  back  to  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  gathered  himself 
up  and  ran  down  the  ravine  to  a  point  where  he  could  get  out ,  and 
came  around  and  joined  his  master ,  showing  almost  human  intelli 
gence.  The  orderly  having  turned  down  the  ravine  somewhat  was 
able  to  cross  and  they  soon  found  a  way  around  the  head  of  the 
ravine  and  rejoined  their  command. 

While  they  were  surrounded,  a  dismounted  cavalry  man,  whose 
carbine  wras  out  of  order  so  he  could,  not  fire  it ,  came  up  on  Bouton's 
left  side ,  while  he  wras  firing  at  those  closing  in  on  the  right ,  and 
aimed  a  blow  at  his  head,  with  his  carbine  in  both  hands.  Sergeant 
Johnson  of  Company  B  of  the  59th  Colored  Infantry.,  who  was  a 
powerful  fellow, sprang  forward, and  catching  the  blow  on  his  arm, 
seized  the  carbine  and  dealt  the  Confederate  a  blowr  that  crushed 
his  skull,  Sergeant  Johnson's  own  gun  having  been  broken  up  in 
the  hand  to  hand  encounter. 

Guntown  was  one  of  the  most  disgraceful  disasters  that  occurred 
to  the  Union  arms  during  the  War,  but  it  afforded  Colonel  Bouton 
an  opportunity  of  winning  the  star  of  a  Brigadier-General. 

Five  days  later ,  General  Bouton  again  took  the  field  with  a  fresh 
command,  some  4500  strong,  and  won  additional  honors  at 
Pontotoc,  Tupelo,  Harrisonburgh  and  Old  Town  Creek. 

GEORGE   HASKIN, 
Late  1st.  Lieut,  and  Adjutant  of  the  55th.  U.  S.  Colored  Infantry. 


69 


From  Pontotoc  to  Tupelo. 


THE  following  statement  appears  in  a  paper  prepared  by 
Col.  Robert  Cowden  of  Dayton,  Ohio: 

"One  of  General  Bouton's  best  achievements,  which  I  have 
not  noticed  in  print,  but  which  did  not  escape  the  eyes  of  his 
superiors,  occurred  on  the  13th  of  July,  1864,  only  one  month 
after  the  disaster  to  our  troops  at  Guntown,  Miss.,  when  in  com 
mand  of  some  4,500  men,  white  and  colored,  he  made  a  march  of 
twenty-two  miles  in  one  day,  from  Pontotoc  to  Tupelo,  Miss., 
guarding  a  heavy  train  of  three  hundred  wagons  and  fighting  at 
the  same  time  four  distinct  battles,  each  successful,  and  against 
superior  odds.  Generals  A.  J.  Smith  and  Joseph  Mower,  command 
ing  corps  and  division  respectively,  declared  this  achievement 
unsurpassed  within  their  knowledge." 

General  A.  J.  Smith's  command,  consisting  of  Mower's  and 
Moore's  Divisions  of  the  16th  corps ,  aggregating  8,300  men  present 
for  duty,  General  Grierson's  cavalry,  4,000  strong  and  my  com 
mand  of  4,500,  the  greater  portion  of  which  were  colored  troops, 
arrived  at  Pontotoc,  Miss.,  from  Memphis,  Term. ,  late  in  the 
afternoon  of  July  11  ,  1S64,  and  went  into  camp  on  the  high  ground 
or  bench  on  which  the  old  town  of  Pontotoc  is  situated  and  to  the 
south  of  the  town.  Still  further  to  the  south,  the  ground  sloped 
down  to  a  small  creek  and  then  rose  again,  forming  another  bench 
on  which  we  found  General  Forrest's  Rebel  forces  occupying  a 
strong  position  on  the  Okalona  road. 

On  the  12th.  our  cavalry  skirmished  with  Forrest's  command 
and  reconnoitered  their  position  in  an  apparent  effort  to  force  an 
advance  south  on  the  Okalona  Road.  Forrest  supposed  it  to  be  our 
purpose  to  go  to  Okalona  and  destroy  a  large  quantity  of  Confed 
erate  supplies  and  then  turn  east  and  join  Sherman  in  front  of 
Atlanta,  wdiereas  our  real  object  was  to  divert  Forrest  from  threat 
ening  Sherman's  right  flank ,  and  cripple  the  Mobile  tfc  Ohio  Rail- 

70 


road   by   destroying  a   long   trestle   through   the   Oldtown  Creek 
bottom  some  twenty-six   miles  east   of   Pontotoc. 

At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  13th,  Grierson's  cavalry 
withdrew  from  in  front  of  Forrest's  command,  and  marching  back 
through  the  town  of  Pontotoc,  took  a  road  turning  due  east  towards 
Tupelo,  their  destination  being  the  long  trestle  on  the  Mobile 
Road.  They  were  soon  followed  by  Moore's  and  then  Mower's 
Divisions,  leaving  me  to  follow  and  take  care  of  our  heavy  wagon 
train  of  fully  three  hundred  wagons,  and  Forrest's  command  of 
some  16,500  men,  a  large  portion  being  cavalry  and  mounted 
infantry,  with  four  batteries  of  artillery.  General  Smith  sent  me 
one  regiment  of  cavalry,  the  7th  Kansas,  known  as  the  " Kansas 
Jay-hawkers,"  about  500  strong.  He  told  me  that  he  desired  to 
make  this  flank  movement  and  destroy  the  railroad,  and  compel 
Forest  to  fight  us  in  a  position  of  our  own  selection ,  instead  of 
in  the  strong  position  he  occupied  on  the  Okalona  Road,  giving 
as  another  reason,  that  by  his  plan  we  would  be  ready  to  start  back 
to  Memphis  immediately  after  the  battle  with  our  wounded 
which  would  be  easier  for  us  and  more  comfortable  for  them. 

After  explaining  the  situation  and  his  plans,  he  directed  me  to 
do  as  best  L  could  in  guarding  the  rear  of  the  column,  but  to  call 
on  him  for  help  at  any  time  if  1  required  it.  He  expressed  the 
opinion  that  on  discovering  his  movements  that  Forrest  would 
start  on  a  parallel  race  for  the  railroad  and  would  not  be  likely 
to  cause  me  much  trouble.  Events  demonstrated  that,  in  this 
respect.  General  Smith  was  mistaken,  as  General  Forrest  realized 
the  hopelessness  of  heading  off  Grierson's  cavalry  before  they 
could  reach  the  railroad,  and  directed  his  efforts  to  trying  to  force 
General  Smith  into  a  battle  by  vigorously  attacking  the  rear  of 
his  column. 

It  was  but  a  little  after  four  o'clock,  when  a  brigade  of  cavalry 
attacked  my  position  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  facing  south,  in 
front  of  Pontotoc,  which  I  soon  repulsed  with  some  two  thousand 
infantry  and  a  battery , losing  but  two  men.  We  then  moved  back 
through  Pontotoc  and  followed  the  main  column  on  the  Tupelo 
Road,  sending  the  wagon  train  ahead  with  three  or  four  men  to 
guard  each  wagon,  and  the  Kansas  Jay-hawkers  guarding  the 
rear.  For  about  a  mile  east  of  Pontotoc,  the  country  was  level 
and  open,  and  here  the  Confederate  cavalry  came  on  in  strong 
force,  so  that  the  Jay-hawkers  could  not  hold  them  in  check.  At 
the  east  edge  of  the  bench  we  were  on,  there  was  an  abrupt  des- 

71 


cent  of  some  seventy-live  feet,  the  road  turned  sharply  to  the  left, 
down  a  rut  or  duo-way  to  t  he  bottom  of  the  hill ,  then  turning  hark 
to  the  right  across  a  crook  and  over  quite  a  stretch  of  swampy  or 
boggy  ground  with  a  corduroy  passage  way  built  of  logs  and 
rails  crossing  it;  then  about  half  a  mile  over  firm  ground,  with  a 
cornfield  on  the  left,  and  oak  brush  on  the  right,  then  rising  some 
thirty  feet  on  to  another  bench,  where  the  road  turned  to  the  left 
down  the  cut,  a  point  of  the  high  ground  extending  around  to  the 
right,  which  was  enclosed  by  an  old  rail  fence  completely  covered 
with  blackberry  bushes. 

The  road  approached  directly  towards  this  position  until  it 
turned  to  the  left  close  to  the  old  fence.  A  better  opportunity 
for  an  ambush  could  hardly  have  been  arranged,  and  I  took  ad 
vantage  of  it ,  by  placing  ('apt.  Jaynes  of  the  61st  Colored  Infantry, 
with  two  companies,  back  of  the  brier  covered  fence,  where  they 
were  entirely  concealed  from  view.  As  the  rear  of  our  column 
disappeared  down  the  cut ,  the  Confederate  cavalry ,  who  were  rush 
ing  after  them,  were  permitted  to  approach  until  they  commenced 
to  turn,  when  Captain  Jaynes  gave  them  a  volley  with  the  muzzles 
of  his  guns  but  a  few  feet  from  those  in  advance,  which  emptied 
many  saddles  and  threw  the  column  into  confusion,  and  the  great 
number  pressing  forward  kept  those  in  front  from  getting  away, 
until  Captain  Jaynes  was  enabled  to  fire  two  or  three  volleys  into 
the  confused  mass,  when  he  withdrew  dowrn  the  steep  face  of  the 
bluff  and  joined  the  column  without  losing  a  man. 

This  set-back  checked  the  enemy  until  we  were  crossing  the 
causeway,  when  they  brought  a  battery  of  four  small  bore  rifle 
guns  into  position  on  the  bluff ,  near  \vhere  \ve  had  ambushed  them  , 
and  opened  an  enfilading  fire  on  our  column,  as  it  was  crossing 
the  causeway. 

This  \vas  certainly  very  annoying,  and  it  required  great  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  officers  to  keep  the  men  cool  and  march  them 
over  the  causeway  with  this  battery  firing  into  the  column  from 
the  rear,  but  fortunately  the  markmanship  of  the  gunners  in  this 
battery  was  not  good.  As  soon  as  possible,  I  sent  a  staff  officer 
forward  and  had  Captain  Smith,  who  was  near  the  head  of  the 
column,  take  a  position  on  the  hill  beyond  with  his  battery  of 
rifle  guns  and  open  fire  at  long  range  on  the  battery  in  the  rear,  so 
as  to  divert  their  fire  as  much  as  possible  from  our  troops  on  the 
causeway.  As  soon  as  the  men  were  pretty  wrell  over,  I  hurried 
forward  and  placed  a  regiment  of  infantry  in  the  corn  field  to  the 

72 


left  of  the  road,  and  another  in  the  oak  hushes  on  the  right.  1 
then  formed  the  rest  of  my  infantry  on  the  ridge  where  Smith's 
battery  was  in  position,  with  Lambourn's  Battery  farther  up  the 
ridge  to  the  left  of  the  road.  This  line  was  some  three  or  four  hun 
dred  yards  in  the  rear  of  the  two  regiments  in  the  corn  and  brush, 
and  in  full  view  of  the  approaching  enemy. 

When  General  Forrest  saw  my  line  formed  on  the  ridge,  he 
brought  up  a  brigade  of  infantry  and  dismounting  a  portion  of  his 
cavalry,  formed  two  lines  of  battle  in  close  supporting  distance  of 
each  other.  Advancing  rapidly  to  charge  the  line  on  the  ridge ,  they 
ran  right  into  the  two  regiments  concealed  in  the  corn  and  brush , 
who  gave  them  two  or  three  heavy  volleys  at  very  close  range  and 
then  fell  back  to  the  main  line,  when  we  opened  a  heavy  fire  on 
them,  the  two  batteries  using  canister,  which  soon  compelled  them 
to  fall  back  out  of  range,  in  confusion  and  with  heavy  loss. 

The  severe  punishment  inflicted  on  the  enemy  up  to  this  time, 
with  so  little  loss  to  ourselves,  caused  him  to  be  more  cautious, 
and  we  were  permitted  to  proceed  comparatively  unmolested  for 
some  five  miles  to  King's  Plantation.  Here  we  were  again  attacked 
by  a  strong  force  coming  up  from  the  rear,  which  we  succeeded  in 
repulsing  after  pretty  hard  fighting  for  some  time,  by  taking  ad 
vantage  of  the  formation  of  the  ground.  A  grove  of  oak  timber 
and  some  old  fences  protected  our  men  to  a  great  extent,  wThile 
the  enemy  were  compelled  to  advance  exposed  to  the  full  force  of 
our  fire.  1  found  a  great  advantage  in  my  artillery,  having  twro 
splendid  batteries  that  were  very  efficiently  handled,  while  General 
Forrest's  batteries  were  S!OWT  in  getting  into  position  and  not  ex 
ceedingly  effective  when  in  action. 

The  fight  at  King's  Plantation  was  only  just  over  and  the  com 
mand  fairly  under  way  again,  when  a  vigorous  attack  was  made 
near  the  head  of  the  column  by  a  strong  force  of  mounted  infantry 
and  a  battery  of  six  pound  guns,  which  Forrest  had  pushed  forward 
on  a  parallel  road  about  a  mile  to  our  right.  The  battery,  firing 
into  our  wagon  train ,  killed  several  mules  and  wrecked  four  wagons , 
so  we  had  to  abandon  them.  My  two  batteries  were  able  to  soon 
silence  the  Rebel  battery,  and  compel  it  to  retire,  when  with  a 
free  use  of  canister,  they  were  able  to  aid  the  line  of  some  three 
thousand  infantry  that  L  had  brought  into  action,  in  repulsing  the 
remainder  of  the  enemy's  forces,  with  considerable  loss. 

In  falling  back  from  this  position,  the  enemy  were  compelled 
to  cross  an  old  cotton  field  under  a  hot  fire  from  our  infantry , 

73 


and  artillery,  and  from  our  position,  we  could  see  the  ground  in 
the  old  field  dotted  by  a  good  many  gray  uniforms  after  the  fight 
was  over. 

It  had  evidently  been  Forrest's  intention  to  have  these  two 
attacks  made  simultaneously,  which  would  certainly  have  been 
quite  embarrassing,  but  fortunately,  they  were  so  timed  that  we 
were  able  to  give  our  undivided  attention  to  each  of  them  respec 
tively.  We  were  still  not  allowed  to  proceed  on  our  way  un 
molested,  but  for  a  short  time,  when  we  wrere  again  attacked  and 
for  some  six  hours,  covering  a  distance  of  about  five  miles,  I  was 
compelled  to  have  from  one  regiment  to  my  entire  command  in 
line  of  battle  and  under  fire,  until  darkness  intervening,  the 
enemy  ceased  his  attacks,  and  we  proceeded  into  camp  at  about 
ten  o'clock  P.  M.,  having  marched  twenty-two  miles  in  eighteen 
hours,  with  almost  continuous  fighting. 

Twice  during  the  day,  General  Smith  sent  an  officer  back  to 
enquire  if  I  needed  assistance,  but  knowing  his  purpose  and  his 
anxiety  to  proceed,  I  reported  that  we  were  all  right,  and  L  thought- 
would  be  able  to  get  through,  but  just  after  dark  when  the  fighting- 
was  over  and  we  were  some  four  miles  from  camp,  we  met  Colonel 
Burgh,  whom  General  Smith  had  sent  back  with  a  brigade  of  caval 
ry.  It  was  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  meet  these  fresh  troops , 
although  we  did  not  longer  need  their  assistance. 

When  Generals  Smith  arid  Mower  learned  fully  of  what  we  had 
accomplished  that  day,  they  were  unstinted  in  their  praise  of  our 
achievement,  but  General  Smith  censured  me  for  not  calling  for 
assistance.  At  about  11  A.  M.  that  day,  we  saw  large  volumes 
of  smoke  rising  some  distance  to  the  east,  showing  that  General 
Grierson  Avas  destroying  the  big  trestle  on  the  Mobile  Road. 
The  next  morning  at  daylight,  we  commenced  forming  a  line  of 
battle  and  soon  after  sunrise  were  hotly  engaged  in  the  Battle  of 
Harrisonburgh . 

Prisoners  who  were  captured  at  Harrisonburgh  reported  that 
Forrest  admitted  a  loss  of  450  men  on  the  13th  between  Pontotoc 
and  Tupelo,  while  my  loss  that  day  was  but  42  men. 


74 


Incidents    Relating    to    the    Battle    of 

Harrisonburgh    or  Tupelo   and 

the  Colored  Troops. 


THE  Battle  of  Harrisonburgh ,  fought  on  the  14th  of  July, 
1864,  was  inaugurated  by  a  most  gallant,  though  disast 
rous  charge  of  Colonel  Faulkner's  Confederate  brigade.  The 
Union  and  Confederate  forces  were  pretty  evenly  matched  so  far 
as  numbers  were  concerned.  General  A.  J.  Smith  having  about 
16,800  men  of  whom  4000  were  cavalry  under  General  Grierson, 
while  General  Forrest  had  some  16,500,  about  two-thirds  of 
which  were  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry.  We,  as  usual,  had 
a  preponderance  of  artillery,  having  six  batteries  to  Forrest's 
four. 

In  the  twenty-one  fights  that  I  had  indulged  in  with  Forrest  dur 
ing  four  years ,  I  never  saw  him  use  such  poor  tactics  as  on  this 
occasion.  Although  he  had  the  best  appointed  and  largest  force 
that  he  ever  commanded ,  he  deliberately  got  his  command  whipped 
in  detail,  just  as  General  Sturges  had  done  when  he  got  us  so 
terribly  used  up  in  fighting  Forrest  at  Guntown  only  about  one 
month  before. 

The  Union  Line  was  formed  on  a  semi-circular  or  horse  shoe 
shaped  ridge,  with  Moore's  Division  4000  strong  on  the 
right,  General  Joe  Mower's  Division,  4300  strong,  in 
the  center,  and  my  command  of  some  4500  men  on 
the  left,  with  the  cavalry  in  reserve  and  on  the 
flanks.  It  was  a  beautiful,  clear,  bright  morning,  the  sun  had 
just  risen  and  our  lines  were  hardly  formed,  when  we  saw  a  portion 
of  the  enemy's  forces  forming  on  high  ground  some  1200  yards  in 
our  front.  As  soon  as  formed,  they  commenced  advancing  to 
make  a  charge.  It  was  Faulkner's  Brigade,  about  2000  strong, 
quite  a  number  of  them  were  Kentuckians,  and  it  was  a  splendid 

75 


body  of  inon,  well  equipped.  As  they  advanced  with  steady  step 
and  perfect  alignment ,  with  their  bright  arms  glistening  in  the 
morning  sun  in  such  plain  view,  I  thought  it  as  beautiful  a  sight 
as  I  ever  beheld.  They  moved  down  the  slope  in  their  front,  across 
a  strip  of  level  ground  and  commenced  ascending  to  the  ridge 
on  which  our  line  was  formed,  without  a  shot  being  fired  on  either 
side.  About  one-third  of  Faulkner's  Brigade  came  in  front  of  the 
left  of  Joe  Mower's  line  and  about  two-thirds  in  front  of  my  line. 
I  took  a  position  with  Smith's  Battery,  which  was  on  the  left  of 
my  right  regiment  and  nearly  opposite  the  center  of  Faulkner's 
line.  He  himself  was  directly  in  my  front,  mounted  on  a  splendid 
iron  gray  horse. 

L  had  sent  an  order  along  my  line  to  take  the  signal  to  fire  from 
Smith's  Battery,  and  the  same  request  to  Mower's  line.  They 
presented  such  a  beautiful  sight  and  seemed  so  bold  and  uncon 
scious  of  danger,  that  I  felt  reluctant  to  give  the  order  to  fire,  until 
they  were  certainly  not  over  150  yards  from  our  line,  when  I  said 
to  Captain  Smith  that  it  was  time  to  stop  them.  He  at  once  gave 
the  command  to  fire ,  and  the  report  of  his  entire  battery  sounded 
as  one  gun,  followed  by  a  volley  that  roared  like  an  avalanche 
and  made  the  ground  tremble. 

A  shot  from  one  of  Smith's  guns  killed  Faulkner's  horse,  throw 
ing  him  to  the  ground  as  it  fell.  He  sprang  to  his  feet,  waved  his 
swrord  and  commanded,  "Forward,  Charge!  "  when  a  minnie  ball 
struck  him  precisely  in  the  center  of  his  forehead,  killing  him 
instantly.  His  command  was  thrown  into  confusion  and  under 
a  heavy  concentrated  fire  of  infantry  and  artillery,  scattered  back 
as  best  they  could.  Several  of  our  officers  and  men  estimated  that 
not  more  than  one-third  escaped,  but,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases, 
this  was  undoubtedly  an  excessive  estimate.  I  presume,  however, 
that  one-fourth  to  one-third  were  killed  or  wounded. 

It  afterwards  transpired  that  General  Forrest  had  addressed 
Faulkner's  men  before  they  made  the  charge,  telling  them  that  our 
forces  were  the  same  kind  of  troops  that  they  had  overcome  so 
easily  at  Guntown,  and  would  run  as  soon  as  they  charged  them, 
and  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  act  hastily,  or  the  cowardly 
Yankees  would  all  get  away  before  they  could  catch  any  of  them. 
This,  undoubtedly,  accounted  in  a  great  measure  for  the  bold  and 
reckless  manner  of  their  approaching  so  close  to  our  lines. 

Just  before  we  opened  fire  on  Faulkner's  line,  Lieutenant 
Henningway,  a  young  officer  from  Iowa,  who  was  a  universal 

76 


favorite  with  all  who  knew  him,  stepped  up  to  me  and  saluting, 
handed  me  a  letter,  requesting  me  to  mail  it  when  1  returned  to 
Memphis.  I  think  he  was  the  first  man  killed  in  my  command. 
In  his  pocket  was  found  another  letter  addressed  to  his  parents  in 
Iowa,  on  which  was  written  the  request  that  anyone  who  should 
come  into  possession  of  the  letter  should  forward  it  to  its  destina 
tion,  adding  that  should  it  be  an  enemy,  to  bear  in  mind  that  he 
would  have  fulfilled  a  similar  request  under  like  circumstances. 
It  transpired  later,  that  in  both  these  letters  he  had  stated  that  he 
expected  to  be  killed,  and  that  before  leaving  Memphis  he  had 
settled  all  his  affairs  with  other  officers  and  the  sutler,  and  had 
expressed  a  presentiment  that  he  would  be  killed.  He  was  a  splen 
did  officer  and  never  shirked  duty. 

Early  in  this  engagement  a  Rebel  battery,  occupying  a  position 
on  the  opposite  ridge,  somewhat  to  the  right  of  the  point  from 
which  Falukner's  Brigade  started  to  make  their  charge,  cut  the 
heads  off  of  two  brothers  named  Letterman,  as  smoothly  as  it 
could  have  been  done  with  a  broad  axe.  They  were  from  Illinios, 
one  was  a  first  lieutenant  and  the  other  a  sergeant  in  one  of  my 
regiments,  and  were  standing  one  behind  the  other  when  the  shell 
struck  them. 

Soon  after  the  charge  of  Faulkner's  Brigade  was  repulsed,  the 
enemy  made  quite  a  vigorous  attack  on  Moore's  Division  on  the 
right,  which  was  repulsed  with  considerable  loss  in  less  than  an 
hour.  Forrest  then  moved  the  main  body  of  his  troops  around  to 
the  left  and  attacked  my  command  at  about  It  o'clock  A.  M., 
and  fighting  was  kept  up  with  little  intermission  till  nearly  night. 
At  about  noon  three  of  Forrest's  Batteries  and  my  two  batteries 
under  Captains  Smith  and  Lambourn,  engaged  in  a  very  pretty 
artillery  duel,  which  lasted  for  nearly  two  hours. 

After  making  the  attack  on  my  line,  General  Forrest,  whose 
forces  greatly  outnumbered  mine,  made  a  determined  effort  to 
turn  my  left  flank.  Having  every  man  engaged,  I  sent  to  General 
Smith  for  assistance  and  he  sent  me  the  9th  111.  Cavalry,  a  splendid 
regiment  who  were  armed  with  Colts  revolving  rifles,  a  very  effec 
tive  arm,  but  too  heavy  for  mounted  service.  They  were  dis 
mounted,  and  forming  line  on  my  left  were  very  efficient  in  repuls 
ing  Forrest's  flank  movement. 

As  this  regiment  was  about  forming  line  down  the  ridge  to  my 
left,  there  being  some  oak  rail  fences  in  our  rear,  I  directed  (he 
men  to  cany  the  rails  up  and  pile  them  along  the  ridge  to  form  a 

77 


barricade  or  breastwork  to  protect  them.  As  one  of  the  men  was 
carrying  an  armful  of  rails  past  me  a  shell  burst  in  front  of  us  and 
a  piece  of  it  struck  the  rails  as  they  rested  against  the  man's  body 
and  he  sank  to  the  ground  and  in  a  moment  was  dead.  As  soon 
as  the  fight  was  over,  the  surgeons  examined  the  body,  but  could 
not  find  a  mark  on  it. 

The  extension  of  my  line  with  the  regiment  of  cavalry  defeated 
the  enemy's  flank  movement,  but  the  fighting  was  continued  with 
more  or  less  vigor  until  nearly  sundown,  when  the  enemy  with 
drew  from  our  immediate  front.  As  night  approached,  I  ordered 
a  company  from  each  regiment  deployed  as  a  skirmish  line  along 
the  ridge,  with  pickets  stationed  in  front,  and  withdrew  the  rest 
of  the  comrmmd  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  where  we  bivouacked  for 
the  night ,  the  men  lying  down  with  their  guns  at  their  sides,  loaded 
and  with  bayonets  fixed.  Soon  after  dark  skirmish  firing  com 
menced  up  on  the  ridge  which  increased  till  about  half  past  ten, 
when  our  skirmishers  began  to  come  down  from  the  ridge  followed 
by  volleys  fired  down  where  we  were  camped,  which  showed  clearly 
that  the  enemy  in  force  had  gained  possession  of  the  ridge. 

I  at  once  ordered  the  men  to  fall  in,  and  taking  three  regiments 
on  the  left  of  my  line  with  an  aggregate  strength  of  about  2200, 
which  covered  the  front  of  the  enemy,  we  prepared  to  charge.  1 
took  the  center  of  this  line  with  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wiley  in  charge 
of  the  right  and  Captain  Boatman  on  the  left,  with  strict  orders  to 
avoid  allowing  the  line  to  get  broken  and  to  guide  on  the  center. 
We  started  up  the  hill  and  when  close  to  the  enemy's  line  gave  them 
a  volley,  immediately  followed  by  a  bayonet  charge,  our  men  going 
after  them  pell  mell.  The  enemy  broke  and  were  pursued  for 
nearly  half  a  mile,  when  we  brought  the  men  back  to  the  ridge, 
where  we  remained  undisturbed  until  morning,  when  some  of  our 
men,  in  looking  over  the  ground  where  the  charge  was  made, 
reported  finding  the  bodies  of  thirty-seven  men  showing  bayonet 
wounds.  By  not  firing  as  we  advanced,  the  enemy  had  not  dis 
covered  our  approach  until  we  were  close  to  them  and  then  the 
volley  we  fired  threw  them  into  such  confusion  that  they  were  not 
prepared  to  resist  the  furious  attack.  General  Smith  had  come 
to  us  when  we  were  preparing  to  charge  and  expressed  misgivings 
of  the  movement,  deeming  it  too  hazardous,  but  finally  consented 
and  was  much  pleased  at  the  result. 

This  was  said  to  have  been  the  only  effective  bayonet  charge 
made  in  the  night  during  the  War.  We  afterwards  learned  that 

78 


Forrest  had  received  reenf orcements  by  a  f resh  brigade  that  Gen 
eral  Dick  Taylor  had  sent  up  by  rail  from  Mobile,  which  induced 
him  to  make  the  night  attack. 

The  next  morning-,  no  enemy  appearing  on  our  front,  and  our 
supplies  of  rations,  forage  and  ammunition  becoming  exhausted, 
the  whole  army  commenced  preparing  to  return  to  Memphis.  We 
had  a  good  many  wounded ,  whom  we  were  able  to  make  quite  com 
fortable  by  putting  a  liberal  bed  of  cotton,  which  we  found  at  some 
adjacent  jin  houses,  on  the  bottoms  of  our  empty  army  wagons. 
Nearly  three  thousand  stands  of  small  arms  that  had  been  left  on 
the  field  by  the  enemy  were  brought  in,  and  being  thrown  in  a  big 
pile  near  the  center  of  the  cam))  ground,  General  Smith  ordered 
them  set  on  fire  and  destroyed.  As  soon  as  the  fire  began  to  make 
headway,  we  discovered  that  many  of  them  were  loaded.  They 
commenced  shooting  in  every  direction,  causing  a  great  scattering 
of  all  those  in  that  vicinity,  and  creating  more  consternation  among 
our  forces  than  they  had  the  day  before  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
had  borne  them  in  line  of  battle. 

In  the  morning  of  this  day,  the  cavalry  had  gone 'to  destroy 
the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad  north  of  the  long  trestle  across  the 
Oldtown  Creek  bottom,  and  towards  noon  the  rest  of  the  com 
mand  moved  out  across  a  long  corduroy  road  or  causeway,  crossing 
the  quagmire  or  swamp  in  the  creek  bottom  with  Moore's  Division 
in  front,  followed  by  General  Joe  Mower's  Division  and  my  com 
mand  in  the  rear,  guarding  the  wagon  train. 

I  took  the  precaution  of  sending  the  wagon  train  and  my  artil 
lery  across  the  causeway,  keeping  back  a  rear  guard  of  three 
regiments  of  the  aggregate  strength  of  over  two  thousand.  Just 
as  the  wagons  and  artillery  were  well  on  the  causeway  and  had  it 
completely  blocked  up,  the  enemy  suddenly  appeared  in  strong 
force  and  opened  fire  on  us,  soon  forming  a  semi-circle  around  us 
and  penning  us  up  against  the  swamps.  I  hastily  formed  line  and 
returned  the  enemy's  fire  as  best  I  could  and  sent  officers  along  the 
causeway  to  hurry  the  wagons  over  and  bring  back  the  rest  of  my 
command. 

General  Smith  soon  came  to  me  unaccompanied  by  any  of  his 
staff.  He  had  either  gotten  past  the  wagons  on  the  causeway  or 
had  stayed  back  to  see  all  across.  He  was  a  very  profane  man  and 
as  soon  as  lie  came  up,  he  said :  "  My  G—  d ,  Moulon  ,  t  hey  have  got 
you  this  time."  On  mv  expressing  a  dissenting  opinion,  he  asked 
what  1  could  do.  1  replied,  "give  (hem  the  bayonet/'  to  which  he 

79 


assented,  saying  if  I  would  take  the  right  of  the  line,  he  would  take 
the  left. 

As  soon  as  I  gave  the  command  to  cease  firing,  fix  bayonets  and 
charge  bayonets,  the  men  started  as  hard  as  they  could  go.  General 
Smith  commenced  shouting  to  them:  "Steady,  steady  men, 
steady!"  But  the  more  he  shouted  steady,  the  harder  they  went. 

The  enemy  gave  way  almost  as  soon  as  my  metis  tarted  to  charge. 
After  I  got  them  back  in  line,  the  rest  of  my  troops  came  over  the 
causeway  followed  by  General  Joe  .Mower's  Division  and  the  enemy 
were  driven  entirely  from  the  field.  We  crossed  the  causeway 
and  going  about  six  miles  up  Oldtown  creek  camped  for  the  night, 
and  the  next  morning  started  on  our  march  back  to  Memphis 
which  we  reached  without  further  incident  of  note. 

When  General  Smith  returned  from  conducting  the  left  of  my 
line  on  the  bayonet  charge,  he  said:  "Bouton,  those  are  the 

d dest  men  of  yours  I  ever  saw,  the  more  1  ordered  them  to 

go  steady,  the  more  they  went  like  h — 11." 

Both  my  men  and  the  enemy  realized  that  my  colored  soldiers, 
with  their  superior  muscle,  were  more  than  a  match  for  their 
wb.it e  opponents  with  the  bayonet,  and  no  race  horse  was  ever 
more  eager  for  the  signal  to  go,  than  my  colored  troops  were  for 
the  order  to  charge  bayonet.  The  Confederates  were  much  in 
censed  at  our  arming  the  negroes,  and  invariably  concentrated 
their  efforts  in  trying  to  destroy  what  they  were  pleased  to  term 
"Boulon's  Xiggers."  Many  of  my  men  bore  scars  on  their  backs 
inflicted  by  the  slave  driver's  lash  in  the  hands  of  their  present 
opponents,  and  were  always  anxious  for  an  opportunity  to  pay 
off  old  scores. 

This  feeling  became  more  intensified  after  the  massacre  of 
colored  troops  at  Fort  Pillow,  a  portion  of  whom  belonged  to  my 
command.  A  section  of  Lambourn's  battery,  some  thirty  men  that 
I  had  sent  up  there  a  few  days  before  the  massacre,  were  all  killed — 
there  was  not  one  left  to  tell  the  tale.  The  Fort  Pillow  massacre 
might  have  been  averted  had  General  Washburn  been  less  timid. 
The  first  day  of  the  fight , the  steamboat  Citi/  of  Alton  came  down  the 
river  arriving  atMemphis  late  in  the  afternoon  and  reported  fighting 
at  Fort  Pillow  when  she  passed.  I  tried  very  hard  to  get  General 
Washburn  to  allow  me  to  take  my  command  on  boats  and  pro 
ceed  at  once  to  Fort  Pillow,  but  he  would  not  consent ,  fearing  that 
Memphis  might  be  attacked  in  our  absence.  Had  General  Wash- 
no 


/  FTHE  A 

f  UNIVERSITY] 

V  OF  J 

^^*NSU^,r  -  r  i  ~^^^ 


burn  consented,  I  could  have  been  in  Fort  Pillow  before  daylight 
the  next  morning  with  3500  as  good  fighters  as  ever  marched  to 
the  beat  of  a  drum. 

After  Fort  Pillow,  my  command  virtually  fought  under  the 
black  flag.  We  soon  found  that  all  our  men  that  were  captured 
and  all  wounded  that  we  had  to  leave  were  promptly  killed ,  and 
from  that  on  my  officers  and  men  never  reported  capturing  any 
prisoners,  and  no  questions  were  asked. 

When  I  reported  with  my  command  to  General  A.  J.  Smith,  he 
had  just  returned  from  Red  River  with  the  16th  Corps,  and  his 
were  the  only  troops  who  had  won  any  honors  on  that  expedition, 
and  they  were  free  to  let  it  be  known  that  they  did  not  hold 
colored  troops  in  high  esteem.  On  the  first  day's  march,  I  was  in 
the  rear  and  his  troops  were  scattered  well  over  the  country  and 
after  a  long,  hot,  dusty  march,  they  went  into  camp  about  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon.  Some  two  hours  later,  my  command 
marched  past  their  camps  to  take  its  place  on  the  right  for  the  next 
day,  with  ranks  closed  up  every  man  in  his  place,  with  arms  at 
right  shoulder  shift  and  bands  playing.  General  Smith  and  all 
his  officers  and  men  were  along  the  road  watching  us,  and  as  some 
of  my  officers  passed  General  Smith ,  he  said:  "By  G — d  ,  those  are 
soldiers."  By  the  time  we  got  back  to  Memphis,  my  men  had 
become  great  favorites  with  General  Smith's  command. 

When  General  Smith  was  ordered  to  join  General  Canby  to 
capture  Mobile,  he  asked  for  my  command  to  accompany  him,  but 
General  Washburn  would  not  consent,  so  he  applied  to  General 
Thomas,  commanding  the  Department,  but  he  would  not  go  con 
trary  to  Washhurn's  wishes,  and  finally  General  Smith  appealed 
to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  matter  was  compromised  by  his 
getting  two  of  my  regiments,  the  61st,  Colonel  Kendrick,  and  6Xt  h  , 
Colonel  Jones. 

The  colored  troops  were  just  what  their  officers  made  them.  My 
officers  were  mostly  selected  from  the  subordinate  and  non-com 
missioned  officers  of  Sherman's  old  Division,  men  who  had  dis 
tinguished  themselves  in  two  year  of  active  service,  and  I  think 
L  had  in  my  command  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  as  good  and 
efficient  officers  as  ever  served  in  any  army  in  the  world. 

The  battle  fought  .Inly  14th  was  designated  by  General  Smith 
the  Battle  of  Harrisonburgh  ,  but  is  generally  referred  to  as  the 
Battle  of  Tupelo,  which  seems  the  more  appropriate  designa 


Expedition    Down    the    Mississippi 
After  Guerillas. 


PYURING    the  early  part  of- August,  1862,  soon  after  General 
*-^     Sherman  -arrived  in  Memphis,  in  command  of  his  own  and 

General  Hurlbut's  Division  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and 
assumed  command  of  the  city;  a  delegation  of  ladies  called  on 
him  and  represented  that  their  families  residing  along  the 
Mississippi  River  below  Memphis,  were  in  distress  from  the  want 
of  groceries ,  provisions,  medical  and  other  supplies,  and  asking 
the  privilege  of  procuring  a  steamboat  to  take  them  to  their 
homes,  with  the  much  needed  subsistence,  etc. 

The  permission  being  granted  under  condition  that  nothing 
contraband  of  war  should  be  taken,  a  suitable  boat  was  chartered, 
'which,  while  proceeding  down  the  river  with  the  supplies  and  pas 
sengers,  under  a  white  nag,  was  fired  into,  when  some  twelve  miles 
below  Memphis,  by  one  of  the  many  bands  of  guerillas  infesting 
the  vicinity  of  the  river,  one  of  the  pilots  being  killed  and  several 
of  the  passengers  wounded.  The  boat  was  compelled  to  return  to 
Memphis.  General  Sherman  was  very  angry  indeed,  and  at  once 
ordered  ah  expedition,  consisting  of  the  46th  Ohio  Infantry  and 
Bouton's  Batten-,  on  board  the  steamboat  Catahoula,  to  proceed 
down  the  river  and  break  up  any  bands  of  guerillas  that  might  be 
found.  The  46th  Ohio  Infantry  was  commanded  by  •Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Charley  Walcot,  who^vas  afterwards  promoted  to  Briga 
dier-General. 

With  the  guns  of  the  Battery  arranged  on  the  bow  of  the  boat, 
and  protected 'by  bales  of  hay  and  sacks  of  grain,  we  proceeded 
down  the  river  to  Scanlan's  Landing,  which  was  reported  to  be 
the  rendezvous  of  quite  a  band  of  guerillas,  the  river  being  at  a 
low  stage  and  the  levees  along  the  river  at  that  point  very  high, 
so  that  nothing  back  of  the  levee  could  be  seen  from  the  decks  of 
the  boat.  As  the  boat  rounded  to  and  approached  the  landing, 

82 


all  were  in  readiness,  anticipating  an  attack.  A  long  staging  being 
run  out,  an  officer  went  ashore  and  creeping  cautiously  up  the  bank 
and  looking  over  the  crest  of  the  levee,  found  not  a  living  thing  in 
sight,  except  a  notorious  captain  of  the  46th  Ohio  approaching  the 
boat,  mounted  on  a  magnificent  chestnut  colored  mule.  Where 
he  came  from  was  a  mystery,  until  it  was  ascertained  that  when 
the  boat  rounded  to,  the  stern  swung  in  against  the  bank  and  he 
had  jumped  ashore  unnoticed. 

The  expedition  landed  and  marched  across  a  bend  of  the  river 
to  a  large  fine  plantation,  known  as  the  Widow  Armstrong  Planta 
tion,  where  we  surprised  a  band  of  some  250  guerillas,  of  whom 
we  succeeded  in  killing,  wounding  and  capturing  some  thirty, 
the  rest  escaping  in  the  woods  and  swamp.  In  compliance  with 
General  Sherman's  positive  orders,  we  were  compelled  to  burn  and 
destroy  this  fine  place.  Our  boat  having  come  around  the  bend  of 
the  river,  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Armstrong,  she  and  her  furniture 
and  effects  were  transported  across  the  river  to  a  neighboring 
plantation  on  the  Mississippi  side  of  the  river. 

Six  bales  of  cotton  found  in  the  gin  house  were  put  on  the  boat 
to  be  taken  to  Memphis.  From  the  Armstrong  Plantation  we 
made  a  night's  march  across  country  through  woods  and  swamps 
to  another  point  that  was  reported  to  be  frequented  by  guerillas. 
The  night  was  very  dark,  and  in  places  we  passed  between  cypress 
trees  in  the  swamp  with  the  guns  of  the  battery  where  we  had 
difficulty  in  passing  on  returning  by  daylight.  At  one  point  in 
the  midst  of  the  dense  forest,  there  was  a  small  clearing  which 
we  came  to  at  about  9:30  P.  M.,  in  the  center  of  which  was  quite 
a  large  building  constructed  of  hewed  logs,  lighted  up  and  full  of 
people,  whom  we  could  hear  talking.  A  large  number  of  horses 
being  hitched  around  the  place,  we  felt  sure  we  had  a  band  of 
guerillas  trapped.  The  troops  surrounded  the  place,  and  I  brought 
the  guns  of  the  battery  to  bear,  double  shotted  with  percussion 
shells  at  very  short  range,  but  though  urged  to  do  so,  I  refused  to 
open  fire  until  it  was  ascertained  who  was  in  the  house. 

The  building  was  set  quite  high  from  the  ground,  on  account  ol 
the  liability  of  overflow,  but  with  assistance,  an  officer  was  enabled 
to  climb  up  noiselessly  to  one  of  the  windows,  when  he  ascertained 
that  it  was  a  religious  meeting.  We  withdrew  as  cautiously  as 
we  had  approaced  the  place,  and  I.  presume  no  one  in  the  assem 
blage  is  aware  to  this  day  of  the  peril  they  were  in. 

We  encountered  not  hing  but  small  scout  ing  parties  of  t  lie  enemy 

83 


on  this  night  march  and  the  return  trip,  so  we  made  our  way  up 
to  near  Hopefield,  where  our  boat  was  awaiting  us,  and  arrived 
home  in  Memphis  a  little  after  midnight  of  the  thrid  day. 

The  six  bales  of  cotton  brought  from  the  Armstrong  Plantation 
were  left  under  guard  on  the  boat ,  but  during  the  night  the  same 
captain  of  the  46th  Ohio,  Avho  had  acquired  the  mule  at  Scanlan's 
Landing,  succeeded  in  stealing  them  from  under  the  very  eyes 
of  the  guard,  for  which  he  was  tried  by  countrmartial  and  dis 
missed  from  the  service.  He  was  undoubtedly  the  most  expert 
thief  in  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  with  the  one  possible  exception 
of  a  man  in  Bouton's  Battery,  who  was  credited  with  breaking  the 
proverbial  record  of  actually  stealing  a  hot  stove,  by  stealing  a  pair 
of  woolen  mittens  to  carry  off  the  hot  stove  with.  When  Sher 
man's  old  .Division  moved  out  of  Memphis  in  November,  1862, 
General  J.  W.  Denver,  who  then  commanded  it,  had  a  dozen 
bottles  of  choice  wine  securely  packed  in  a  box  under  the  seat  of 
his  ambulance.  He  had  not  gone  three  miles  before  the  Battery 
boy  had  acquired  eight  of  those  bottles. 


84 


Bouton's    Battery. 


A  T  an  artillery  review  in  St.  Louis  in  February,  1862,  General 
**•  Halleck  stated  that  he  considered  Bouton's  Battery  the 
finest  battery  he  had  ever  seen  in  any  service  either  in  Europe  or 
America.  At  a  review  of  troops  at  College  Hill,  Miss.,  in 
December,  1862,  General  Sherman  stated  that,  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  war,  he  had  felt  great  concern  regarding-  what 
we  should  do  for  field  artillery,  as  it  had  always  been  considered 
in  the  old  regular  army  that  three  years  of  service  was  necessary 
to  make  good  and  efficient  artillerymen,  and  in  Europe  five  to 
seven  years,  but  that  Bouton's  Battery,  though  hardly  yet  a  year 
in  the  service,  he  considered  equal  in  efficiency  to  any  battery  in 
any  service. 

Although  Bouton's  Battery  was  organized  in  Chicago,  it  had 
men  from  several  of  the  Northwestern  States ,  quite  a  number  from 
Ohio  and  from  the  saw  mills  and  lumber  regions  of  Wisconsin, 
and  it  is  likely  that  a  finer  body  of  men  from  an  athletic  and  physi 
cal  point  of  view  were  never  embraced  in  an  organization  of  the 
same  number. 

Captain  Edward  Bouton  recruited  this  battery  largely  at  his  own 
expense,  so  that  when  they  were  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service,  it  had  cost  the  State  of  Illinois  but  $13.53  per  man,  at  a 
time  when  it  was  costing  the  state  an  average  of  $154.00  per  capita 
to  put  soldiers  in  the  field.  The  battery  consisting  of  a  total 
aggregate  of  154  men,  proceeded  to  St.  Louis  in  January,  1862, 
where  it  procured  six  fine  new  James  rifles,  caliber  3.80,  throwing 
projectiles  weighing  14  pounds. 

At  this  time  the  Government  was  purchasing  from  500  to  1200 
horses  per  day,  at  St.  Louis,  and  was  getting  splendid  animals  from 
Missouri,  Kansas,  Iowa,  Illinois  and  Indiana.  Bouton  obtained 
permission  from  Captain  Parsons  (Purchasing  Quartermaster) 
to  take  his  pick  from  these  horses  as  they  were  inspected  and 
accepted,  and  he  selected  from  three  to  ten  a  day,  until  he  had  pro- 

85 


cured  128  animals.  Four  guns  and  their  caissons,  requiring  eight 
teams  of  six  horses  each,  were  supplied  with  bright  bays,  and  the 
remaining  two  guns  and  their  caissons  with  jet  black  horses.  These 
teams  were  perfectly  matched  and  any  pair  of  them  would  be 
likely  to  attract  attention  if  driven  through  any  city  attached  to 
a  carriage.  The  battery  wagon,  forge,  ambulance  and  baggage 
wagons  were  furnished  with  equally  fine  animals. 

From  the  first  organization  of  the  battery,,  the  officers  under 
Captain  Bouton's  direction,  applied  themselves  diligently  to  drilling 
the  men,  so  that  when  the  battery  was  brought  into  active  service 
in  the  field,  the  men  had  acquired  a  great  degree  of  perfection  in 
drill  and  discipline  and  were  well  prepared  to  attain  the  high 
reputation  for  efficiency  for  which  they  became  noted.  In  over 
four  years  service,  this  battery  never  failed  to  win  favorable  men 
tion  on  many  a  hard  fought  field,  particularly  distinguishing  itself 
at  Shiloh,  Nashville  and  Franklin. 

At  the  Battle  of  Nashville,  Bouton's  Battery  was  attached  to 
Hatche's  Division  of  cavalry,  which  constituted  the  extreme 
right  of  the  Union  forces.  In  the  night  some  six  hundred  men 
hoisted  one  of  the  guns  up  the  almost  perpendicular  face  of  a  high 
hill  well  in  the  rear  of  the  left  of  the  Rebel  army,  and  at  daylight 
fired  the  signal  shot  for  the  commencement  of  the  attack  on  the 
Rebel  position. 

This  battery  participated  in  seventeen  great  battles  and  forty- 
six  important  skirmishes  that  were  officially  reported  and  probably 
a  hundred  minor  skirmishes  that  were  never  reported. 

They  were  with  the  extreme  advance  in  the  pursuit  of  Hood's 
army ,  after  Nashville,  and  in  that  pursuit  went  into  action  on  an 
average  of  six  times  a  day  for  ten  days.  Among  them  was  a  very 
hard  fight  at  Duck  River,  lasting  several  hours. 

There  was  a  flood  rise  of  1.4  feet  in  this  river  and  Hood  had  to 
abandon  nearly  all  his  wagons  and  artillery,  and  supposed  he  was 
clear  of  the  Union  batteries  as  well,  but  Bouton's  Battery  took 
their  ammunition  chests  across  the  river  on  rafts  hastily  construct 
ed,  principally  from  the  beds  of  abandoned  Rebel  army  wagons, 
swam  their  horses  across,  and  splicing  their  prolongs  dragged  the 
guns  through  14  to  18  feet  of  water,  and  in  two  hours  were  pound 
ing  away  at  Hood's  forces  again. 

This  battery  not  only  never  lost  a  gun,  but  with  the  exception 
of  Shiloh  and  perhaps  two  other  instances  where  the  entire  line 
fell  back,  they  never  receded  from  a  position  they  had  taken. 

86 


Their  guns  were  especially  adapted  to  throwing  canister;  each 
charge  of  canister  weighed  14  pounds,  contained  240  projectiles, 
and  when  hard  pressed  they  would  double  shot  and  for  a  short 
time  could  fire  six  rounds  per  minute,  or  12880  missiles  from  each 
gun,  17,280  from  the  entire  six  guns  per  minute,  which  no  force 
could  withstand.  Bouton's  Battery  was  noted  throughout  the 
army  for  rapidity  of  fire  and  accuracy  of  aim.  .General  Hatche 
used  to  say  that  Bouton's  Battery  could  shoot  prairie  chickens  on 
the  wing. 

On  one  occasion  during  the  Nashville  campaign  in  a  hard  fight 
between  Nashville  and  Duck  River,  Bouton's  Battery  not  only 
silenced  a  Rebel  battery,  but  drove  the  men  entirely  away  from  it 
and  went  -with  their  own  limbers, and  took  the  guns  and  carried 
them  off,  two  of  the  guns  proving  to  be  James  rifles  that  had  been 
captured  from  Waterhouse's.  Battery  at  Shiloh.  So  far  as  known 
this  wras  the  only  instance  of  one  battery  capturing  another 
battery  and  actually  carrying  off  its  guns  during  the  War. 

A  high  testimonial  to  the  character  of  the  men  comprising 
Bouton's  Battery  is  the  fact  that  fifty-three  of  the  enlisted  men 
were  promoted  to  be  commissioned  officers  during  their  terms  of 
enlistment. 

JAMES  DODWELL, 

Formerly  a  Veteran  Member  Bouton's  Battery. 
Eldorado,  Kansas,  Nov.  28,    1903. 


87 


The    Ambusher's    Ambushed. 


ON  the  night  of  July  9,  1864,  General  A.  J.  Smith's  command, 
consisting  of  Moore's,  Mower's  and  Bouton's  Divisions  of 
Infantry,    some    12,800    strong    with   Grierson's    Cavalry   4,000 
strong,  on  their  way  to  Tupelo,  went  into  camp  in  a  valley  about 
five  miles  north  of  Ripley,  Miss. 

Quite  a  force  of  the  enemy,  consisting  of  cavalry  and  mounted 
infantry  belonging  to  General  Forest's  command,  was  known  to 
be  in  the  vicinity  of  Ripley. 

Before  dark  Grierson  sent  out  scouting  parties  in  every  direction, 
and  a  little  after  midnight  one  of  those  detachments  came  in, 
and  reported  that  a  brigade  of  Rebels  had  marched  out  of  Ripley 
very  quietly  and  taken  a  position  in  the  brush  on  the  upper  side 
of  the  road  between  our  camp  and  Ripley.  The  road  ran  along 
the  westerly  slope  of  a  ridge  for  some  three  miles,  the  ridge  and 
western  slope  being  covered  with  scattering  pine  trees  and  a  thick 
growth  of  oak  underbrush. 

Tne  enemy  had  taken  a  position  a  few  rods  back  from  the  road 
on  the  upper  side  and  perfectly  concealed  by  the  thick  underbrush, 
their  line  extending  about  two  miles. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  General  Grierson  having 
found  a  darkey  who  knew  the  ground  thoroughly  and  wrho  acted 
as  a  guide,  sent  a  brigade  of  dismounted  cavalry  armed  with 
Spencer  carbines  out  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  ridge  near  its  sum 
mit  so  that  they  occupied  a  position  covering  the  entire  rear  of 
the  ambushing  Confederates. 

As  soon  as  daylight  appeared,  General  Joe  Mower  sent  out  a 
brigade  of  infantry  in  light  order  on  the  Ripley  road  and  when 
they  had  advanced  so  as  to  cover  quite  a  large  portion  of  the  am 
bushed  frontage  at  a  signal  they  faced  to  the  left  and  opened  fire 
into  the  oak  brush  where  the  Rebels  were  concealed,  and  as  soon 

88 


as  they  opened  fire,  Grierson's  cavalrymen  ran  forward  to  the 
crest  of  the  ridge  and  commenced  firing  on  the  Confederates  from 
the  rear  with  their  carbines. 

The  Confederates  were  so  surprised  and  thrown  into  such  con 
fusion  that  they  only  returned  a  scattering  fire  that  did  but  little 
harm.  Quite  a  number  of  them  were  killed  and  wounded  and  near 
ly  three  hundred  taken  prisoners. 

That  was  the  first  instance  where  the  repeating  carbines  were 
used  in  that  portion  of  the  western  army,  and  some  of  the  Con 
federate  prisoners  wanted  to  know  what  kind  of  guns  those  were, 
that  they  could  load  up  all  night  and  shoot  them  off  all  day. 


89 


The  War-Time  Railroads. 


AFTER  the  surrender  of  the  principal  Confederate  armies 
in  the  spring  of  1865,  my  command  having  little  to  do, 
excepting  to  garrison  the  city  of  Memphis,  I  was  ordered  in 
addition  to  my  other  duties  to  take  charge  of  the  office  of  Provost 
Marshal-General  of  the  District  of  West  Tennessee,  the  affairs 
of  which  had  become  involved  in  a  very  chaotic  condition. 

While  engaged  in  this  duty,  one  day  in  the  month  of  June, 
Sam  Tate,  a  colonel  in  the  Confederate  army  and  president  of 
the  Memphis  &  Charleston  Railroad,  came  into  my  office  on  Court 
Street,  in  Memphis,  and  stated  that  he  desired  to  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  and  to  make  application  for  a  pardon,  so  as  to  be 
restored  to  full  citizenship.  This  business  transacted,  he  stated 
that  he  desired  very  much  to  recover  possession  of  his  railway, 
which  had  been  in  the  use  and  possession  of  the  government 
military  authorities  since  the  spring  of  1862,  and  he  desired  to 
know  if  I  thought  anything  could  be  accomplished  in  that  direction. 
To  his  inquiry,  I  replied  that  I  was  not  aware  of  the  subject's 
having  been  considered  by  the  military  authorities,  but  as  the  war 
was  virtually  ended,  and  the  government  had  little  further  use  for 
the  road,  it  seemed  not  improbable  that  the  matter  might  be  ar 
ranged.  He  desired  me  to  consider  the  matter ,  and  asked  permission 
to  call  again  the  next  day. 

On  leaving  the  office  that  afternoon,  I  went  and  consulted  Maj.- 
Gen.  John  E.  Smith,  commanding  the  District  of  West  Tennessee, 
who  at  once  became  interested  in  the  subject  of  turning  the  railroad 
over  to  its  owners,  and  suggested  that  I  draw  up  a  plan  for  that 
purpose.  I  did  so  that  night,  and,  submitting  it  to  him  the  next 
morning,  he  approved  of  its  terms  and  conditions  without  any 
changes.  Colonel  Tate  was  perfectly  satisfied  and  willing  to  accept 
the  terms  I  had  proposed,  and  went  away  to  prepare  to  go  to 
Washington  to  procure  his  pardon  and  consummate  the  arrange 
ments  to  get  possession  of  his  road. 

90 


In  a  fc\v  days,  however,  he  returned  and  stated  that  his  friends, 
the  presidents  of  the  Mississippi  Central  Railway,  the  Mobile  <fc 
Ohio,  the  Xew  Orleans,  Jackson  &  Great  Northern  and  Memphis 
<fc  Tennessee  Railroads  all  desired  to  join  in  an  effort  to  recover 
their  railroads  also.  So  the  arrangement  was  finally  made  to  em 
brace  about  all  the  railways  in  the  Southwest  in  a  uniform  plan. 
After  the  arrangement  was  agreed  upon  with  the  different  railway 
officials  and  General  Smith  had  given  it  his  approval,  1  proceeded 
to  Nashville,  and  General  Thomas,  commanding  the  Department 
of  Tennessee,  approved  of  the  agreement,  after  wrhich  I  went  to 
New  Orleans  to  procure  the  approval  of  General  Canby,  command 
ing  the  Department  of  the  Gulf. 

General  Canby  was  at  first  much  opposed  to  the  plan  and  advo 
cated  confiscating  the  roads,  and  that  the  government  should 
retain  and  permanently  operate  them.  After  calling  his  attention 
to  the  contrary  policy  of  our  government  as  enunciated  by  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  at  City  Point,  and  as  being  carried  out  by  General 
Grant  and  others  high  in  authority,  he  admitted  that  it  would  be 
according  to  the  policy  of  the  government  to  turn  the  roads  over 
to  the  owners,  and  reluctantly  approved  of  rny  plan,  but  still 
expressing  the  opinion  that  it  was  a  mistaken  policy. 

The  arrangement  as  agreed  to  by  the  officers  of  the  various  rail 
ways  having  now  been  approved  by  the  two  department  comman- 
ders  within  whose  jurisdiction  the  roads  were  located,  Col.  Sam 
Tate  proceeded  to  Washington  to  complete  arrangements  for  the 
final  transfer  with  General  Grant,  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the 
Quartermaster  General.  General  Grant  and  the  Secretary  of  War 
approved  of  the  arrangement,  and  the  details  were  soon  settled 
by  the  quartermaster's  department. 

The  first  proposition  in  the  agreement  was  that  the  railway  com 
panies  should  reorganize  so  as  to  present  loyal  boards  of  directors 
to  receive  the  roads  from  the  government;  that  where  any  overt 
acts  of  hostility  had  been  committed  by  the  individual,  he  should 
subscribe  to  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  government,  and  where 
necessary,  apply  for  pardon.  The  second  proposition  was  that 
the  railway  companies  should  never  present  any  claims  against 
the  government  for  use  or  damage  to  the  property  while  in  the  use 
or  possession  of  the  military  authorities. 

Then  followed  arrangements  for  selling  to  the  different  roads 
rolling  stock,  rails,  bridge  timbers,  etc.,  of  which  the  government 
had  accumulated  a  large  supply,  and  which  the  roads  were  in 

91 


immediate  need  of.  This  was  to  be  paid  for  in  twenty-four  monthly 
installments.  The  roads  were  to  give  preference  to  all  government 
transportation  at  prices  to  he  fixed  by  the  Quartermaster's  Depart 
ment,  and  each  month's  earnings  in  transportation  to  be  applied 
to  that  month's  installment  on  payment  for  rolling  stock  and 
material  purchased  of  the  government ,  and  payment  of  the  balance, 
whichever  way  it  might  be. 

Col.  Sam  Tate  found  in  President  Johnson  an  old  schoolmate 
and  companion  of  his  youth,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  present  a 
claim  amounting  to  some  $1,200,000  against  the  government  for 
use  and  damage  to  the  Memphis  &  Charleston  Railroad  while 
in  possession  of  the  military  authorities,  and  while  dining  together 
the  President  became  so  amiable  that  Colonel  Tate  was  able  to 
procure  his  signature  to  an  order  for  the  quartermaster-general 
to  pay  a  large  sum  on  account  of  this  claim,  said  to  have  been 
approximately  $400,000. 

Some  people  were  so  unkind  as  to  assert  that  Colonel  Tate  had 
divided  this  money  with  the  President,  hut  after  President  John 
son's  death,  it  was  fully  demonstrated  that  he  had  not  received 
a  dollar  from  Colonel  Tate.  in  July,  1868,  learning  that  the 
sergeant-at-arms  of  the  House  of  Representatives  had  sent  inquiries 
regarding  my  whereabouts  to  Chicago  and  Memphis,  and  that  Ben 
Butler  desired  my  evidence  in  the  impeachment  trial  of  Andrew 
Johnson,  in  regard  to  the  contract  or  agreement  under  which  the 
railroads  in  the  Southwest  were  turned  over  to  the  various  com 
panies,  on  the  supposition  that  Andrew  Johnson  had  ordered  a 
large  sum  of  money  paid  to  Col.  Sam  Tate  by  the  Quartermaster- 
General  in  direct  violation  of  the  terms  of  the  agreement  which  I 
had  prepared.  It  was  charged  that  President  Johnson  had  derived 
pecuniar}^  benefit  from  the  payment,  and  none  of  the  papers 
relating  to  the  transaction  being  found  on  file  in  the  Quarter 
master-General's  office,  my  evidence  was  desired  to  show  the  terms 
of  the  agreement. 

I  went  at  once  to  consult  with  General  Grant  at  Washington 
in  regard  to  the  matter.  He  advised  very  positively  against  my 
putting  myself  in  the  way  of  being  called  as  a  witness.  While 
not  evincing  great  admiration  for  President  Johnson,  General 
Grant  expressed  an  unqualified  opinion  that  little  harm  could  come 
in  allowing  the  President  to  quietly  serve  out  the  balance  of  his 
term,  and  that  very  unfortunate  results  might  follow  his  im 
peachment:  that  it  would  be  likely  to  make  friends  for  him  of  many 

92 


who  were  not  so  disposed  at  present,  and  would  tend  to  create 
divisions  and  factions  among  Republicans  and  the  supporters 
of  the  Union;  and  would  materially  aid  Johnson  in  his  ambitious 
political  scheme  of  uniting  the  Northern  Democrats  with  the 
Southern  Confederates  in  one  great  dominating  party,  with  him 
at  its  head. 

While  nothing  could  be  farther  from  the  intention  of  Hen  Butler 
and  other  zealous  advocates  of  impeachment,  he  was  apprehensive 
that  this  might  be  the  result.  He  furthermore  expressed  the 
opinion  that  Andrew  Johnson  had  not  received  a  dollar  from  Sam 
Tate. 

Acting  on  the  suggestion  of  General  Grant,  L  did  not  offer  myself 
as  a  witness  in  the  case,  and  soon  after  left  for  California. 


Military  Permit  Business. 


THK  ASa/i  Franc i 'sco  Daily  AUa  of  September  9,  1889, 
speaking  of  General  Bouton,  from  information  given  by 
an  officer  who  served  with  him  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion, 
says : 

''Aside  from  his  fightinir  qualities,  he  became  particularly  noted 
for  the  integrity  with  which  he  discharged  the  duty  of  issuing 
military  permits  toward  the  close  of  the  war.  After  the  Mississippi 
River  was  open  to  navigation  and  commerce  from  Cairo  to  New 
Orleans,  cotton  and  all  merchandise  could  only  pass  through  the 
lines  under  such  permits,  issued  mainly  at  Memphis.  The  profits 
of  moving  cotton  and  supplies  were  so  great,  and  speculators 
could  offer  such  inducements  to  obtain  permits,  that  three  officers 
of  rank  had  been  unable  to  withstand  the  temptation  and  had 
left  the  service  in  disgrace, it  being  ascertained  that  they  had  been 
heavily  bribed.  President  Lincoln,  in  a  moment  of  irritation, 
sent  an  order  to  put  an  honest  officer  in  charge  of  the  military 
permit  business  at.  Memphis,  if  one  could  be  found  in  the  western 
army,  and  Generals  Thomas  and  Washburn  selected  Bouton,  who 
filled  the  position  until  all  military  restrictions  were  removed  from 
commerce,  and  both  Lincoln  and  Stanton  complimented  him  on 
the  strict  fidelity  with  which  he  had  discharged  its  responsible 
and  delicate  duties." 

One  very  serious  result  of  war  not  likely  to  be  taken  into  full 
consideration  is  its  demoralizing  influence  on  the  people  of  any 
country  wherein  it  prevails. 

Men  are  subject  to  temptations  not  encountered  in  civil  life, 
and  are  more  likely  to  yield  to  such  temptation  when  not  sur 
rounded  by  the  restraining  influences  of  home  and  refined  society, 
while  those  in  high  places  and  of  the  purest  integrity  are  frequently 
subject  to  the  most  unjust  and  cruel  suspicions  and  accusations. 

During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  President  Lincoln's  motives 
were  seriously  questioned  for  having  given  Dr.  Parkham  a  permit 

94 


to  pass  10,000  bales  of  cotton  through  the  military  lines  at  Mem 
phis,  as  a  reward  for  valuable  service  rendered  the  government. 

When  General  Grant  issued  an  order  excluding  cotton  buyers 
from  the  lines,  who  were  giving  the  enemy  information  of  all 
movements  of  the  Union  forces,  he  was  accused  of  doing  it  to  ex 
clude  from  the  field  all  buyers  except  certain  ones  who  were 
dividing  profits  with  him. 

Instances  were  known  of  army  chaplains  being  arrested  for 
pillaging,  who,  at  home  were  considered  model  teachers  of  morality. 

It  is  probable  that  such  opportunities  for  speculation,  with  such 
wide  margins  of  profit  and  such  strong  temptations,  were  never 
elsewhere  presented,  as  at  Memphis  during  the  war.  The  margin 
of  difference  in  the  market  value  of  many  articles  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  picket  line  was  frequently  more  than  ten  hundred  per 
cent.  Cotton  could  often  be  purchased  outside  the  Union  lines 
for  about  14  cents  per  pound  in  Confederate  money,  and  $14  to 
$20  in  Confederate  money  could  be  bought  for  $1  in  greenbacks 
in  Memphis.  Cotton  sold  in  Memphis  at  from  40  to  78  cents  in 
greenbacks  during  the  war.  Private  soldiers  on  the  picket  line  were 
offered  as  high  as  $1000  and  over  to  allow  one  man  with  what  he 
could  carry  on  his  person  to  cross  the  line. 

When  General  Sherman's  command  left  La  Grange  and  Grand 
Junction  to  move  into  Memphis  in  July,  1862,  a  Division  Quarter 
master  dumped  forty-eight  six-mule  army  wagon  loads  of  sugar 
and  bacon  on  the  ground  and  abandoned  it  and  loaded  the  wagons 
with  cotton,  tying  the  covers  down  so  as  to  conceal  their  contents. 
He  bought  the  cotton  at  1 1  cents  per  pound  in  greenbacks,  and  sold 
it  at  4S  cents  in  gold  in  Memphis.  The  sugar  and  bacon  he  could 
replace  at  9  and  13  cents  per  pound. 

As  soon  as  the  Union  forces  occupied  Memphis,  citizens,  mostly 
ladies,  commenced  applying  to  the  commanding  officers  for  per 
mission  to  take  provisions  and  supplies  out  through  the  lines  for 
their  families,  representing  their  needs  and  necessities  in  such 
terms  as  to  bo  irresistible  even  though  sometimes  admitting  that 
their  husbands  were  in  the  Rebel  army.  A  strong  inducement 
to  permit  supplies  to  pass  through  the  lines  was  that  the  negroes 
were  the  first  to  suffer,  and  they  were  almost  universally  friendly 
to  the  cause  of  the  Union. 

These  applications  for  permits  soon  became  too  numerous  for 
the  commanding  general  to  attend  to  in  person,  so  that  an  officer 
was  detailed  to  attend  to  that  duty.  Many  people  who  required 

95 


supplies  were  planters  who  desired  to  bring  in  cotton  and  sell  it 
to  enable  them  to  make  their  purchases.  It  soon  became  the  policy 
of  the  government  to  permit  the  marketing  of  cotton  on  account 
of  threatened  complications  with  European  nations,  especially 
with  England,  where  the  demand  for  American  cotton  threatened 
to  induce  intervention  to  enable  the  procurement  of  the  much- 
needed  staple,  and  later  the  shipment  of  cotton  came  to  be  a 
material  aid  in  supporting  the  credit  and  finances  of  the  Govern 
ment.  Cotton  that  had  formerly  been  shipped  at  gulf  ports  was 
diverted  to  the  northern  route,  and,  as  the  Union  lines  were 
extended,  and  navigable  streams  opened  to  commerce,  the  amount 
of  business  done  under  military  permits  issued  at  Memphis,  came 
to  assume  immense  proportions. 

The  policy  of  the  military  authorities  and  of  the  Government  was 
to  permit  necessary  family  and  plantation  supplies  to  pass  out 
through  the  lines  without  allowing  contraband  goods  or  supplies 
for  the  Confederate  forces  to  pass,  and  to  allow  private  cotton  to 
come  in  and  be  marketed,  and  prohibit  or  seize  "Confederate 
cotton."  As  Confederate  cotton  was  scattered  over  the  country 
in  the  hands  of  planters  Avho  were  in  sympathy  with  the  cause,  it 
was  hard  to  discriminate  between  Confederate  and  private  owner 
ship. 

Speculators  and  traders  \vere  able  to  offer  such  inducements 
and  use  such  skill,  that  three  officers  of  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  colonel  were  ascertained  to  have  yielded  to  the  great 
temptations  offered  and  to  have  accepted  large  sums  of  money 
for  having  issued  military  permits  improperly.  It  was  ascertained 
that  the  Parkham  permit,  granted  by  the  President  himself,  had 
been  transferred  to  third  parties  and  so  manipulated  as  to  cover 
the  shipment  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  bales  of  Confederate 
cotton.  AVhen  this  fact  came  to  the  knowledge  of  President  Lincoln 
he  was  so  annoyed  that  he  telegraphed  to  General  Grant  at  City 
Point,  Ya.,  to  put  an  honest  officer  in  charge  of  issuing  military 
permits  at  Memphis,  if  one  could  be  found  in  the  western  army. 

Early  in  January,  1865, 1  was  becoming  convalescent  from  quite 
a  severe  wound ,  when  one  day  General  Washburn  came  to  my 
quarters  in  the  city  of  Memphis  and  showed  me  a  copy  of  the 
President's  telegram  to  General  Grant,  also  one  from  Grant  to 
Thomas  at  Nashville,  directing  him  to  execute  the  President's 
order,  and  a  dispatch  from  General  Thomas  to  him  (Washburn) 
to  select  and  report  the  name  of  an  officer  to  fill  the  position. 

96 


General  Washb'urn  suggested  my  taking  the  place,  to  which  I 
strongly  objected;  but  he  insisted,  and  reported  my  name  to 
General  Thomas,  who  at  once  telegraphed  his  approval,  and  the 
selection  was  later  approved  by  General  Grant. 

On  taking  charge  of  this  office,  I  found  it  conducted  by  some 
three  or  four  subordinate  officers,  and  between  thirty  and  forty 
clerks,  some  of  whom  were  soldiers  detailed  for  that  duty,  and 
some  citizens  who  were  employed  for  that  purpose.  The  first 
three  days'  investigation  disclosed  facts  which  I  deemed  sufficient 
to  justify  my  sending  about  one-half  of  this  force  under  escort 
of  a  file  of  soldiers  to  the  Irving  Military  Prison.  On  returning 
to  my  headquarters,  in  a  house  near  the  main  entrance  to  Fort 
Pickering,  the  night  of  my  first  day  on  duty,  I  found  about 
two  drayloads  of  presents,  consisting  of  baskets  of  champagne, 
thousands  of  cigars,  fine  military  boots,  gauntlets,  sabers,  spurs 
and  many  other  items.  They  were  accompanied  by  cards  and 
compliments  of  various  merchants,  traders  and  speculators  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  procuring  permits.  I  at  once  ordered  every 
thing  returned  to  the  source  from  whence  it  came. 

The  second  day  I  was  on  this  duty  a  man  who  had  been  a  very 
popular  officer  in  the  service,  and  who  was  quite  a  favorite  with 
Generals  Grant  and  Sherman,  but  who  had  resigned  his  position 
in  the  army  and  engaged  extensively  in  dealing  in  cotton  and 
plantation  supplies,  came  into  my  private  office.  He  closed  .the 
door  after  him,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  business  by  producing  a 
bundle  of  papers,  and  stating  that  he  vushed  to  send  a  steamboat 
loaded  with  supplies  up  the  Ya/oo  River,  and  bring  out  a  load  of 
cotton,  adding  that  he  had  invoices  and  permits  all  made  out  ready 
for  me  to  sign,  and  that  my  signature  was  worth  $40, 000  to  him, 
and  that  he  had  the  money  ready  there  for  me. 

After  this  announcement  his  stay  in  the  office  was  (mite  brief. 
He  obtained  no  permits,  but  gained  some  knowledge. 

When  General  Grant  was  elected  President,  he  appointed  this 
man  to  an  important  position  in  the  internal  revenue  department, 
and  he  was  implicated  in  the  whisky-ring  frauds  in  the  West . 
His  name  would  be  familiar  to  many  in  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee 
and  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

A  few  days  after  entering  on  this  duty,  I  felt  justified  in  sum 
marily  sending  two  or  three  prominent  merchants  to  the  military 
prison  for  from  three  to  five  days  each,  when  they  were  released 
on  bonds.  They  felt  greatly  aggrieved  at  this  treatment,  and 

97 


reported  the  matter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  had  an  investi 
gation  made,  and  brought  it  to  the  attention  of  the  President, 
who  approved  my  course  and  indorsed  an  opinion  in  the  papers 
that  he  thought  the  parties  had  escaped  very  lightly — one  of  the 
charges  being  implication  in  a  scheme  to  smuggle  through  the  lines 
a  lot  of  revolvers  and  ammunition  for  Confederate  use ,  the  penalty 
of  which  offence  would  be  death  according  to  the  articles  of  war. 

Various  orders  had  been  issued  by  Generals  Grant,  Sherman, 
Thomas,  Hurlbut,  Washburn  and  others,  regulating  the  issuance 
of  permits,  but  when  1  was  assigned  to  that  duty,  all  orders  and 
regulations  were  suspended,  and  I  was  given  full  power  and  dis 
cretion  over  the  whole  business.  I  proceeded  to  systemize  and 
regulate  it  so  as  to  allow  one  month's  supplies  to  all  members  of 
families,  including  colored  servants  and  forage  for  animals,  but 
no  large  quantities  for  trading  purposes,  except  cargoes  of  steam 
boats  passing  up  and  down  the  river,  consigned  to  points  within 
the  Union  lines,  a  full  record  being  kept  of  every  item  allowed  to 
pass  out  of  the  lines,  and  of  every  bale  of  cotton  coming  in,  with  a 
history  of  its  source  and  destination  or  disposition. 

I  soon  found  that  General  Osterhouse  at  Vicksburg  and  General 
Canby  at  New  Orleans,  had  regulations  differing  from  those  I  had 
adopted  and  from  one  another.  I  conferred  with  them  and  a  uni 
form  system  was  adopted  from  Cairo  to  New  Orleans,  mostly 
centered  in  my  office  at  Memphis.  Doing  the  business  and  keeping 
the  records  kept  sixty  to  seventy  clerks  very  busy,  and  sometimes 
1  had  to  attach  my  signature  as  many  as  eight  hundred  times  in 
one  day,  the  total  value  of  all  cotton  and  merchandise  covered 
by  one  day's  permits  frequently  being  over  a  million  dollars 

L  had  not  been  on  duty  more  than  a  week  when  all  offering  of 
money  or  bribes  of  any  kind  for  military  permits  was  entirely 
broken  up  and  was  no  more  heard  of  until  all  military  restrictions 
were  entirely  removed  from  commerce. 

Having  been  successful  in  detecting,  sei/ing  and  turning  over 
to  the  government  a  largo  quantity  of  Confederate  cotton.  Secre 
tary  Stanton  complimented  mo  quite  highly  as  boinji;  one  of  the 
1'ow  army  officers  who  had  boon  able  to  handle  Confederate  cotton 
without  becoming  contaminated. 


ASK  ETC  H 


GENERAL  EDWARD  BOUTON 


Ancient  French  Coat  of  Arms  of 
the  Bouton  Family,  now  borne 
by  the  Count  Chamilly  .... 


General  Edward  Bouton. 


ACCORDING  to  a  Biographical  and  Genealogical  History, 
published  by  Joel  Munsell's  Sons  of  Albany,  N.  Y., 
the  Bouton  family  have  a  traditional  record  or  history  dating 
back  to  the  fifth  century,  when  history  tells  us  that  clans 
or  tribes  of  Gauls  inhabited  the  country  bordering  on 
the  River  Rhone  and  extending  from  Lake  Geneva  to  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  But  the  Boutons  were  more  particularly 
identified  with  the  Visgoth  clan,  and  the  head  of  the  Salian 
tribe  under  King  Hilderia,  A.  D.  481,  who  at  his  death  left 
his  son  Clovis  king  of  the  tribe.  From  this  period ,  during  the 
reign  of  Clovis,  wars  of  conquest  were  of  frequent  occurrence; 
the  Franks  from  the  north  making  attacks  upon  the  southern 
Gauls,  were  successfully  resisted  by  Clovis,  and  Syragrius,  a 
Roman  usurper  was  defeated  and  his  people  subjugated  by 
Clovis,  who  made  himself  popular  with  his  subjugated  subjects 
by  favoring  their  bishop,  and  by  marrying  Clotilde  (or  Holihelda) 
the  niece  (or,  as  some  historians  say,  the  daughter)  of  the  king 
of  Burgundy,  a  Christian.  Clovis  promised  his  wife  that  if  her 
God,  whose  aid  he  invoked  during  the  Battle  of  Tolbiac,  should 
give  him  success,  he  would  embrace  her  religion.  This  he  subse 
quently  did,  and  was  baptized  into  the  Christian  faith;  his  example 
was  generally  followed  by  his  people,  among  whom  were  the  an 
cestors  of  the  Bouton  family,  who  were  leaders  in  his  army. 

The  ancient  Bouton  shield  or  coat  of  arms  had  the  following 
motto  on  a  groundwork  on  perpendicular  lines,  "I)e  Gules  a  la 
Fasce  d'Or,"  which  is  old  French,  and  its  translation  means  a 
force  as  of  a  leopard  when  it  attacks  with  its  red  mouth  open. 
This  coat  of  arms  is  still  borne  by  the  Count  Chamilly,  at  present 
residing  in  Rome. 

The  "Dictionaire  des  Generaux  Francais"  states  that  from  1350 
the  military  and  court  records  abound  with  the  Bouton  name  for 
two  centuries. 

103 


Nicholas  Bouton,  born  about  15X0,  bore1  the  title  of  Count 
Chamilly.  Baron  Montague  do  Xaton  was  the  father  of  Harard 
and  John  (twins)  and  of  Noel  Bouton,  who  were  Huguenots  and 
refugees  during  the  violent  persecution  of  the  Protestants  by  the 
Roman  Catholics  during  the  predominance  of  the  Guises  in  France. 
At  length,  the  intolerance  of  the  Catholics  being  over,  Noel 
Bouton  distinguished  himself  and  was  made  Marquis  de  Chamilly, 
and  was  subsequently  made  marshal  of  all  France,  and  a  life-sized 
portrait  of  him  was  placed  in  the  gallery  of  French  Nobles  at 
Versailles,  France,  where  it  is  still  to  be  seen. 

The  French  historian,  speaking  of  the  Boutons,  says  that  it  is 
accorded  to  a  noble  ancestry  that  a  proclivity  for  patriotism,  edu 
cation  and  religion  is  seen  in  the  race  all  down  the  ages.  Some 
members  of  this  family  settled  permanently  in  England,  where 
they  had  taken  refuge  during  the  Huguenot  persecutions,  and 
soon  became  prominent  in  the  military  and  civil  service  of  the 
government,  their  names  being  Anglicized  by  adopting  the  "gh" , 
spelling  the  name  Boughton. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  first  advent  of  the  Boutons  into  England 
was  as  officers  in  the  army  of  William  the  Conqueror  in  1060,  and 
that  some  time  after  other  members  of  the  family  sought  an  asy 
lum  in  England  from  the  persecution  of  the  Protestants  in  France; 
that  under  the  names  of  Boughton,  Rouse  and  Broughton,  two 
members  of  this  family  were  at  the  same  time  peers  of  England 
and  six  others  represented  seats  in  the  English  Parliament.  This 
statement  seems  authenticated  by  Burke 's  Peers  of  England. 

Rouse  Boughton's  ancestors  were  of  very  high  antiquity  in  the 
counties  of  Surrey,  Worcester,  Warwick,  Gloucester  and  Here 
ford.  Dr.  Nash,  in  his  history  of  Worcester,  mentions  that  its 
patriarchs  of  that  shire  accompanied  the  Conqueror  to  England, 
and  the  statement  is  confirmed  by  the  Battle  Abbey  Roll.  The 
name  of  Boughton  became  merged  into  Rouse  by  Thomas  Philip 
Rouse  Boughton,  who  assumed  the  name  of  Rouse  and  took  up 
his  residence  at  Rouse  Leach.  This  gentleman,  as  Thomas  Rouse, 
Esq.,  served  as  high  sheriff  of  Worcester  in  1733. 

Charles  William  Boughton,  Esq.,  (second  son  of  Schuckburgh 
Boughton,  Esq.,  of  Poston  Court,  County  Hereford,  and  grand 
son  of  Sir  William  Boughton,  fourth  baronet  of  Lawford  County 
Warwick)  assumed  the  surname  of  Rouse  and  represented  the 
boroughs  of  Eversham  and  Bramber  as  Charles  William  Boughton 
Rouse,  Esq.  Mr.  Boughton  Rouse  was  chief  secretary  of  the 

104 


Board  of  Control ,  and  was  created  a  baronet  .June  2X,  17(.)1.  hut 
soon  after  he  inherited  the  baronetage  of  his  own  family,  the 
Boughtons.  Sir  Edward  Boughton  of  Barchester,  County  War 
wick,  was  created  a  baronet  August  4,  1041.  The  Boughtons 
held  baronetcies  in  England  for  eleven  generations. 

It  is  asserted  that  of  the  many  Boutons  and  Boughtons  through 
out  New  England  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  there  was  not  an 
able-bodied  man  who  was  not  serving  his  country,  and  the  rec 
ords  of  the  War  Department  show  that  every  northern  State  and 
over  half  of  the  southern  States  were  represented  by  Boutons  in 
the  Union  army  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  three  of  them 
attaining  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General.  It  is  undoubtedly  a  his 
torical  fact  that  for  some  fourteen  centuries  members  of  this 
family  have  proved  themselves  valiant  soldiers  on  many  of  the 
important  battlefields  of  the  civilized  world,  and  always  on  the 
side  of  loyalty,  religious  liberty  and  better  government. 

SUPPLEMENT. 

To  the  history  of  the  Bouton  race,  as  published  in  the  Bouton 
(Boughton)  genealogy,  copied  from  a  manuscript  made  by 
Judge  William  S.  Bouton,  of  South  Norwalk,  Conn.,  from  a 
French  History  in  the  Astor  Library,  New  York  City. 
The  Boutons  are  of  Bungarian  extraction,  and  very  much  of  the 
patriotic,  moral  and  religious  character  exhibited  by  the  family 
all  through  the  centuries  to  the  present  was  an  inheritance  trans 
mitted  by  a  noble  ancestry  which  shone  with  renewed  lustre  in  its 
descendants  who  served  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  for  the  preser 
vation  of  this  Republic.     The  patriotism  and  religious  character 
o^  the  family  will  become  more  apparent  as  we  proceed  to  an  ex 
amination  of  the  history  of  its  several  branches  from  1356,  when 
Edward  ILL  of  England  invaded  France,  to  1865,  the  close  of  the 
Rebellion  in  the  United  States. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE   NAME. 

In  the  twelfth  century  an  ancestor  serving  as  a  chorister  in 
the  chapel  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  founded  his  name  and  for 
tune  and  that  of  his  family  by  striking  down  with  his  official  baton 
an  assassin  who  made  an  attempt  on  the  life  of  his  master,  which 
act  raised  him  in  the  ducal  chapel  to  the  position  of  page  of  honor 
to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  his  gallant  achievement  was  prop 
erly  commemorated  by  heraldic  inscription  on  a  shield,  which  the 

105 


family  have  ever  since  borne,  viz:  "De  Gules  a  la  Fasce  d'Or," 
with  the  surname  Baton  (which  was  afterward  corrupted  into 
Bouton),  bestowed  upon  him  by  the  duke.  The  change  of  Baton 
to  Bouton,  was,  it  was  said,  in  allusion  to  the  brightness  of  the 
buttons  with  which  as  a  page  his  coat  was  adorned. 

(NOTE. — According  to  well  authenticated  records ,  there  were  of 
ficers  by  the  name  of  Bouton  in  William  the  Conqueror's  army  in 
1060,  a  century  earlier  than  the  incident  related  of  the  chorister 
in  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's  chapel.) 

Subsequently  he  acquired  other  laurels  in  the  wars  of  the  times, 
for  which  the  Duke  bestowed  further  favors  upon  him.  To  him 
was  given  the  command  of  the  fortress  of  Dole,  and  the  hand  of 
a  beautiful  heiress  with  large  estates  and  baronial  castles,  which 
gave  him  rank  among  the  foremost  nobles  of  Burgundy.  It  was 
at  this  point  in  its  history  that  the  family  began  to  emigrate  to 
other  climes  and  it  will  be  more  practicable  to  follow  their  history 
in  the  locality  or  countries  where  they  settled. 

The  French  line  is  traced  back  authentically  as  far  as  1350  to 
Jean  Bouton,  Signeur  de  Savigny.  Many  of  the  Bouton  name  ap 
pear  in  the  French  military  and  court  records  of  the  fifteenth,  six 
teenth  and  later  centuries.  Nicholas  Bouton  bore  the  titles  of 
Count  de  Chamilly,  Baron  Montague  de  Naton.  His  son  Noel 
Bouton,  born  1636,  advanced  the  honor  of  the  house  and  was 
made  Marquis  of  Chamilly,  and  in  1703  the  Marshal  of  all  France. 
(See  Dictionaire  des  Generaux  and  Dictionaire  de  la  Noblesse. ) 

THE  ENGLISH  BRANCH  OF  THE  BOUTONS. 

William  Bouton,  according  to  tradition  and  history,  was  a  Bun- 
garian  soldier  of  fortune,  and  served  in  the  army  of  Edward  III 
of  England  when  he  invaded  France  in  1356,  and  attained  the 
title  of  Sir  William  Boughton.  He  won  the  personal  favor  of 
King  Edward  at  the  Battle  of  Portiers,  and  ever  after  followed 
his  fortunes,  and  at  the  close  of  the  campaigns  returned  with  him 
to  England  and  was  knighted  by  his  adopted  sovereign.  Sir 
William's  estates  were  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  River  Avon, 
and  the  manor  house  wras  known  as  Lawford  Hall  and  was  built 
by  Edward,  son  of  Sir  William,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Eliza 
beth.  Edward  Boughton  was  high  sheriff  of  the  county  and 
member  of  the  shire,  and  after  his  death  his  body  was  consigned  to 
the  family  vault  under  the  church  at  Newbold. 

106 


THE  IRISH  BRANCH  OF  THE  FAMILY. 

The  Irish  branch  of  the  family  was  founded  by  Herard  Bowton, 
a  descendant  of  the  brother  of  the  marquis,  who,  in  the  reign  of 
Louis  XLV  of  France,  rose  to  the  rank  of  Premier  V alette  de 
Chambre,  and  died  upon  the  scaffold  in  the  prison  of  the  Luxem 
bourg  in  1794  for  his  opposition  to  priest  and  king.  Herard  Bow- 
ton  had  a  twin  brother  named  John.  Both  were  educated  in  the 
family  of  a  priest  in  Ireland.  Herard  Bowton,  upon  the  revoca 
tion  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  returned  to  Ireland,  still  following  the 
fortunes  of  Marshal  Tehomborge,  under  whom  he  served  in  the 
Protestant  army  under  William  ill,  risking  life  and  fortune  in  be 
half  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  He  particularly  distinguished 
himself  as  a  fearless  and  valiant  soldier  at  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne, 
July  1,  1690.  Herard  Bowton  was  rewarded  by  the  king  with  a 
share  of  the  confiscated  lands  situated  in  the  County  of  Ballyrack, 
which  had  fallen  to  the  Conqueror.  Herard  and  John  Bowton 
were  twin  brothers  and  born  in  France  about  seventy-five  years 
before  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne.  Probably  after  that  engagement 
Herard  returned  to  France,  where  he  received  the  income  of  his 
estates  at  Ballyrack,  Ireland. 

(NOTE. — The  present  Lord  Montague  Bowton  is  a  lineal  descen 
dant  of  Herard  Bowton. ) 

As  Herard  was  born  into  the  world  before  John,  the  titles  and 
estates  devolved,  under  the  feudal  system,  upon  the  oldest  male 
child.  The  younger,  having  received  his  portion  in  money,  crossed 
the  British  Channel  to  seek  fortune  and  honors  in  the  new  world. 

Th'"1  '-areer  of  the  Bouton  family  has  ever  been  synonymous 
with  civilization.  When  it  spread  abroad  among  the  nations  it 
carried  with  it  a  higher  grade  of  civilizing  influences,  which  have 
left  their  impress  upon  the  people  with  whom  they  came  in  con 
tact,  and  the  name  has  always  been  the  harbinger  of  civil  and  re 
ligious  liberty.  Their  descendants  are  by  comparison  numerous 
as  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  and  dispersed  in  almost  every  clime. 
It  has  taken  deep  root,  and  its  fruits  are  found  in  other  as  well 
as  in  their  own  native  Hungarian  soil. 

For  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  Sir  William 
Boughton  in  1356  joined  the  standard  of  Edward  III  of  England, 
when  he  invaded  France,  and  for  the  same  principles  Herard 
Bowton  followed  the  fortunes  of  W7illiam  III  of  England,  who,  at 
Portiers  under  Tehomborge,  and  at  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne,  fought 
nobly  for  liberty. 

107 


General  Ml  wan  I  Bouton  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  Nicholas 
Bouton,  Count  Chamilly.  through  his  son  John  Bouton,  who  em 
barked  from  Gravesend,  England,  in  the  barque  "Assurance/1  in 
.July,  1636,  and  landed  at  Boston,  Mass.,  in  December,  1636,  aged 
twenty  years.  Early  in  the  settlement  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  he 
moved  to  that  place,  and  in  1671,  and  for  several  years  subse 
quent  he  was  a  representative  in  the  general  court  of  the  colony 
of  Connecticut.  General  Bouton 's  grandfather,  Captain  Daniel 
Bouton,  distinguished  himself  commanding  Connecticut  volun 
teers  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  his  father,  Russell  Bou 
ton,  served  his  country  well  in  the  Avar  with  England  in  1812. 
His  maternal  grandfather,  Moses  Hinsdale,  rendered  valuable 
service  in  the  Revolutionary  War  by  the  manufacture  of  one  hun 
dred  cannon  for  the  colonial  troops,  from  metal  mined,  smelted 
and  cast  by  himself,  and  for  which  he  received  nothing,  simply 
because  of  the  inability  of  the  infant  government  to  pay. 

General  Bouton's  line  of  descent  from  John  Bouton,  the  original 
immigrant,  is/. 

1st,  through  his  son,  John  Bouton,  Jr.,  born  at  Norwalk,  Conn. , 
Sept,  30,  1659. 

2d,  Nathaniel  Bouton,  son  of  John  Bouton,  Jr.,  born  at  Nor 
walk,  Conn.,  in  1691. 

3d,  Daniel  Bouton,  son  of  Nathaniel  Bouton,  born  at  New  Ca 
naan,  township  of  Stratford,  Conn.,  October  24,  1740. 

4th,  Russell  Bouton,  son  of  Daniel  Bouton,  born  at  Danbury, 
Conn.,  October  31,  1790;  who  married  Mary  Hinsdale,  May  16, 
1814,  at  Reading,  Conn.,  where  they  resided  until  1821,  and  then 
moved  to  the  township  of  Howard  (now  Avoca ) ,  Steuben  Coun 
ty,  N.  Y.,  where  Edward  Bouton,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
bom  April  12,  1834. 

In  his  early  youth,  Edward  Bouton  attended  a  country  school 
at  GofTs  Mills,  Howard  Township,  and  subsequently  studied  at 
Rodgersville  Academy  and  Haverling  Union  School  in  Bath,  N.  Y. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  entered  a  store  at  Bath,  of  which  two 
years  later  he  became  part  proprietor,  and  sole  proprietor  at 
the  age  of  twenty-three.  By  this  time  the  business  had  become 
extended,  and  he  shipped  large  quantities  of  grain,  wool,  pro 
visions  and  produce,  on  the  Erie  Railway,  having  purchasing 
agents  at  nearly  every  station.  In  1859,  he  relinquished  his  Bath 
connection  and  engaged  in  an  even  more  lucrative  business  at 
Chicago,  111.,  as  grain  commission  merchant  with  vessel  property 

108 


on  the  lakes.  When  the  Civil  War  broke  out  he  sold  his  business 
and,  chiefly  at  his  own  expense,  raised  a  battery  which  through 
out  the  war  was  familiarly  known  as  Bouton's  Battery,  its  official 
designation  being  Battery  I,  First  Regiment,  Illinois  Light  Artil 
lery.  At  the  time  General  Bouton  organized  his  famous  battery, 
it  was  costing  the  State  of  Illinois  $154  per  capita  to  recruit,  trans 
port  and  maintain  troops  previous  to  being  mustered  into  the 
United  States  service.  Bouton 's  Battery  cost  the  State  only  $13.20 
per  capita,  the  balance  of  the  expense  being  paid  out  of  the  private 
purse  of  General  Bouton.  He  gained  promotion  to  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General  and  participated  with  honor  in  the  Battle  of 
Shiloh  and  some  forty  other  engagements  and  many  skirmishes, 
and  in  various  expeditions  in  West  Tennessee,  Northern  Missis 
sippi,  Alabama  and  Arkansas.  At  the  close  of  the  War  the  com 
mand  was  offered  to  General  Bouton  of  a  corps  of  twenty-thou 
sand  veterans  to  be  organized  to  serve  as  volunteers  in  the  Mexican 
War  with  France,  and  a  colonelcy  in  the  regular  army  was  also 
pressed  upon  him  in  the  most  flattering  terms  by  Generals  Grant 
and  Sherman,  but  preferring  to  retire  to  civil  life,  he  declined 
both  of  these,  and  in  1868  removed  to  California,  and  purchasing 
the  San  Jacinto  Ranch,  ninety  miles  east  of  Los  Angeles,  engaged 
extensively  in  sheep  raising.  Since  1882  he  has  also  been  inter 
ested  in  real  estate  speculations. 

January  20,  1859,  General  Bouton  married  Miss  Margaret  Fox, 
who  was  born  in  Avoca,  X.  Y.,  and  died  in  California  August  14, 
1891.  He  was  a  second  time  married  at  San  Diego,  Cal.,  March 
22,  1894,  his  wife  being  Elsa  Johnson,  who  is  connected  with  some 
of  the  best  familes  of  Sweden.  One  child,  a  boy,  has  been  born 
to  them. 

We  can  scarcely  make  a  better  presentation  of  General  Bouton 's 
biography  than  by  copying  the  following  article  by  Colonel  Robert 
Cowden,  who  was  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends  and  ardent  ad 
mirers  : 

"Karly  in  the  late  war  for  the  Union,  General  Bouton,  then  a 
commission  merchant  in  Chicago,  organized  a  battery  of  light 
artillery,  which  always,  among  soldiers,  bore  his  name  'Bouton's 
Battery,7  but  was  officially  known  as  Battery  I,  First  Regiment, 
lllinios  Light  Artillery.  This  battery  distinguished  itself  all 
through  the  War,  from  the  Battle  of  Shiloh  to  those  of  Nashville, 
and  Franklin  three  years  later.  General  Bouton  commanded  his 
battery  in  person  from  the  first  until  his  promotion,  and  here  first 

109 


attracted  the  attention  of  his  superiors.  Karly  in  May,  1X63,  Gen 
eral  Lorenzo  Thomas,  Adjutant-General  of  the  U.  S.  army,  landed 
at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  with  orders  direct  from  President  Lincoln  for 
the  organization  of  colored  troops,  six  regiments  of  which  were 
wanted  from  this  point.  The  order  to  organize  these  was  dated 
the  4th  of  May.  In  consultation  with  General  Thomas  on  the  one 
hand  and  his  six  division  commanders  on  the  other,  General 
Stephen  A.  Hurlbut ,  commanding  department  of  West  Tennes 
see  and  Northern  Mississippi,  made  choice  of  Captain  Bouton,  at 
that  time  chief  of  artillery  of  the  Fifth  Division  of  the  Sixteenth 
Army  Corps,  Sherman's  old  Shiloh  Division,  to  command  one  of 
these  regiments,  and  in  that  choice  distinguished  himself  as  a  dis- 
cerner  of  men.  It  was  understoood  that  General  Sherman  enter 
tained  misgivings  and  was  loath  to  lose  General  Bout  on  from  a 
service  in  which  lie  had  shown  such  capacity,  but  admitted  that, 
if  any  one  could  make  soldiers  of  negroes,  it  was  Bouton.  In 
proof  of  the  correctness  of  his  judgment,  it  is  noted  here  that 
General  Macry,  inspector-general  of  the  U.  S.  army,  less  than  two 
years  later,  after  a  thorough  personal  inspection,  pronounced 
three  of  the  colored  regiments  in  General  Bouton 's  command,  in 
drill,  discipline  and  military  bearing  equal  to  any  in  the  service, 
regular  or  volunteer.' 

"One  of  General  Bouton 's  best  achievements,  which  I  have  not 
noticed  in  print,  but  which  did  not  escape  the  eyes  of  his  superiors, 
occurred  July  13,  1X64,  one  month  after  the  disaster  to  our  troops 
at  Guntown,  Miss.,  when  in  command  of  about  4500  men,  white 
and  colored,  he  made  a  march  of  twenty-two  miles  in  one  day, 
irom  Pontotoc  to  Tupelo,  Miss.,  guarding  a  heavy  train  of  three 
hundred  wagons  and  fighting  in  the  same  time  four  distinct  bat 
tles,  each  successful  and  against  superior  odds.  Generals  A.  J. 
Smith  and  Joseph  Mower,  commanding  corps  and  division  respec 
tively,  declared  this  achievement  unsurpassed  within  their  knowl 
edge. 

u  But  it  was  not  alone  in  I  he  sanguinary  struggle  on  the  field 
that  General  Bout  on 's  qualities  shone.  He  was  equally  capable  in 
the  administration  of  affairs,  as  was  proved  by  results.  Memphis, 
an  important  river  port,  and  geographically  central  to  a  large  and 
wealthy  cotton-growing  county,  was  a  point  not  easily  controlled 
satisfactorily  to  the  general  government  ;md  in  the  interest  of  the 
people.  After  many  failures  and  losses  and  when  confusion  and 
distrust  had  long  run  riot  ,  General  Bouton  was  appointed  provost- 

110 


marshal  of  the  city,  which  made  him,  for  the  time,  dictator  in  af 
fairs  military  and  civil,  including  all  trade  privileges  and  care  of 
abandoned  property,  of  which  there  was  much;  prisons,  scouts, 
detectives,  the  police  and  sanitary  regulation  of  the  city;  in  short, 
everything  in  and  immediately  about  the  city.  With  the  most 
careful  management  an  expenditure  of  $9,000  a  month  was  neces 
sary  to  efficient  government.  In  the  exercise  of  his  usual  fidelity 
and  the  appointment  of  only  the  most  trustworthy  subordinates 
in  every  department,  be  soon  introduced  order;  collected  and  dis 
bursed  moneys;  paid  all  past  indebtedness,  heavy  as  it  was,  and 
current  expenses;  and  at  the  end  of  six  months  handed  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  city  over  to  the  newly  elected  municipal  officers, 
and  turned  over  several  thousand  dollars  to  the  special  fund  of 
the  War  Department. 

" Still  another  service  of  first-^lass  importance  to  the  United 
States  "•ovenmient,  and  tr>  the  subjugated  southland,  did  General 
Houton  render,  that  marked  him  as  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
sagacity.  While  he  was  yet  provost-marshal  of  Memphis,  Colonel 
Sam  Tate,  of  the  late  Rebel  army,  came  in  to  take  the  prescribed 
oath  of  allegiance.  Having  done  this,  he  expressed  a  desire  to  re 
cover  control  of  the  Memphis  &  Charleston  Railroad,  of  which  he 
was  president.  The  government  no  longer  needing  the  road  for 
military  purposes,  General  Bouton  drew  up  a  plan  or  agreement 
at  the  suggestion  of  General  John  K.  Smith,  by  which  not  only 
this,  but  other  southern  roads  in  this  section,  were  finally  returned 
to  their  owners.  One  of  the  first  and  principal  stipulations  in  the 
agreement  was  that  no  claim  should  ever  be  made  against  the  gov 
ernment  for  the  use  or,  of  damage  to  paid  roads  while  they  were 
being  used  for  military  purposes.  All  parties  in  the  interest  of  the 
company  having  signed  the  agreement  General  Bouton  pro 
ceeded  in  person  to  New  Orleans  and  to  Nashville  and  secured 
the  approval  of  Generals  Canby  and  Thomas,  department  com 
manders.  Colonel  Tate  then  went  to  Washington  to  complete  with 
General  Grant,  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Quartermaster- 
General,  all  arrangements  for  the  transfer  of  the  property.  Xo 
sooner  had  he  done  this  than  he  presented  a  claim  against  the  gov 
ernment  .  which  President  Johnson,  an  old  friend  of  his,  ordered 
paid.  Knemies  of  President  Johnson  charged  that  he  received 
a  part  of  this,  and  during  the  impeachment  trial  desired  General 
Bouton's  evidence  on  'n(->  contract.  But  ,  a(  the-  suggestion  of  Gen- 

111 


eral  Grant,  he  never  appeared,  and  soon  after  went  to  California, 
where  he  has  ever  since  lived.  After  Johnson's  death  it  was  de 
veloped  that  he  did  not  receive  a  dollar  of  Tate's  money. 

"In  the  spring  of  1866,  General  Bout  on  declined  a  colonelcy  in 
the  regular  army,  the  acceptance  of  which  in.  the  regular  order  of 
promotions,  would  have  brought  him  by  this  time  near  the  head  of 
the  army.  Although  recommended  by  Generals  Grant  and  Sher 
man,  and  warmly  endorsed  by  Generals  A.  .}.  Smith  and  Joseph 
Mower,  in  language  almost  extravagant,  the  General  chose  to  de 
cline,  preferring  civil  pursuits. 

"General  Sherman's  esteem  of  General  Bouton  was  tersely  ex 
pressed  in  the  following  language,  not  long  before  my  last  hand 
shake  with  the  aged  hero.  Said  he,  'I  think  well  of  General  Bou 
ton.  I  always  found  him  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  He 
is  an  honest,  modest,  brave,  true  soldier,  and  capable  of  filling 
any  position  he  will  accept.' 

"I  last  saw  General  Sherman  at  a  reception  in  Columbus,  Ohio, 
during  the  grand  encampment  in  ISSN.  In  order  to  ensure  quick 
recognition,  I  said,  on  taking  his  hand,  ' Bouton 's  Battery.'  In 
stantly  he  straightened  up,  while  the  old-time  fire  Hashed  in  his 
eyes,  as  he  said,  giving  me  an  extra  warm  shake,  'Bouton's  Bat 
tery.  I  remember  it  well.  Splendid  battery.'  These  were  his  last 
words  in  my  hearing  and  with  these  words  I  would  close  this  re 
cital/" 

(Signed)  ROBERT  COWDEN, 

Late  Lieut. -Colonel,  commanding  59th  U.  S.  Colored  Infantry. 
Dayton,  Ohio,  April  17,  1895. 

During  his  army  career  General  Bouton  was  several  times  men 
tioned  in  terms  of  commendation,  especially  for  strict  integrity, 
by  both  President  Lincoln  and  Secretary  of  War  Stanton;  on  one 
occasion  Secretary  Stanton  saying  that  he  was  one  of  the  few 
army  officers  who  had  been  able  to  handle  Confederate  cotton 
without  being  contaminated.  In  recommending  General  Bouton's 
promotion  to  Brigadier-General,  General  Grant  said:  "I  consider 
Colonel  Bouton  one  of  the  best  officers  in  the  army,  and  there  is 
not  one  whose  promotion  I  can  more  cheerfully  recommend." 
Generals  Halleck  and  Sherman  both  pronounced  him  the  best  artil 
lery  officer  in  the  army;  General  Ilalleck  saying  thai  he  had  never 
seen  a  better  battery  than  Bouton's  cither  in  Lurope  or  America, 
and  that  less  than  a  thousand  men  had  saved  the  day  at  Shiloh, 

112 


most  conspicuous  among  the  number  being  Bouton's  Battery  of 
Chicago.  General  Sherman  on  one  occasion  said:  "Bouton  was 
as  cool  under  fire  and  as  good  an  artillery  officer  as  I  ever  knew, 
and  there  is  no  living  man  whom  I  would  rather  have  handle  my 
artillery  in  a  hard  fight."  General  Washburn  said  that  General 
Bouton's  defense  of  the  rear  of  the  vanquished  Union  forces,  un 
der  General  Sturges,  on  their  retreat  from  Guntown,  Miss.,  to 
Germantown,  Tenn. ,  for  two  clays  and  nights,  a  distance  of  eighty- 
one  miles,  with  but  a  handful  of  men,  against  the  incessant  and 
impetuous  attacks  of  General  Forrest's  victorious  army,  constitut 
ed  one  of  the  most  heroic  deeds  recorded  in  history.  Generals 
A.  J.  Smith  and  Joseph  Mower,  both  pronounced  him  the  best 
brigade  commander  they  had  ever  seen.  When  General  Smith's 
veterans  of  the  Sixteenth  Corps  were,  for  the  third  time,  repulsed 
before  Spanish  Fort  at  Mobile,  he  said  to  Colonel  Kendrick:  "I 
wish  to  Clod  Bouton  was  here;  he  would  go  in  there  like  a  whirl 
wind." 


The  above  picture  represents  General  Bouton  at  thirty  years  of  age  and  is  one 
of  the  Oak  Gallery  pictures  of  which  many  copies  were  found  in  the  Spanish  fort 
Mobile  with  the  order  endorsed  on  them  to  kill  or  capture  this  officer  at  any  cost 
or  hazard. 

To  show  how  the  General  was  regarded  bv  the  Confederates, 
lie  following  incident   may  be  narrated:     Soon  after  his  promo- 
to  be  a  brigadier-general,  and  when  thirty  years  ol  tige,  he 

113 


had  some  pictures  taken  at  Oak  Gallery  in  Memphis,  Tenn.  One 
of  these  was  obtained  by  the  Confederate  General.  N.  B.  Forrest, 
from  one  of  Bouton's  officers  who  was  taken  a  prisoner  of  war. 
This  picture  General  Forrest  sent  to  Mobile,  where  hundreds  of 
copies  were  made  and  distributed  among  the  Confederate  soldiers 
in  the  southwest.  When  Mobile  was  captured,  both  General  A. 
J.  Smith,  commanding  the  Sixteenth  Corps,  and  Colonel  Ken- 
drick,  formerly  of  General  Bouton's  command,  reported  finding 
many  of  the  pictures  with  the  order  endorsed  upon  them  to  kill 
or  capture  this  officer  at  any  cost  or  hazard. 

In  the  St.  Louis  Rtpi tllican ,  January  8,  1891 ,  there  appeared  an 
article,  "Stories  of  Pioneer  Daring,"  in  which  the  author,  Charles 
F.  Lumrnis,  gives  the  following  incident  in  the  life  of  General 
Bouton : 

"An  equally  remarkable  display  of  pure  nerve  was  the  exploit 
of  General  Edward  Bouton  in  a  lonely  pass  in  Southern  California 
in  1879.  A  quiet,  gentle-voiced,  mild-mannered  man,  one  would 
hardly  suspect  in  him  the  reckless  daring  which  won  him  dis 
tinction  in  some  of  the  most  desperate  engagements  in  the  Civil 
War.  It  was  he  of  whom  General  Sherman  said  in  my  hearing: 
'He  was  the  most  daring  brigadier  we  had  in  the  West.'  The  ter 
rific  artillery  duel  between  General  Bouton's  Chicago  battery  and 
two  Rebel  batteries  at  Shiloh,  and  the  desperate  three  hours  at 
Guntown,  Miss.,  when  he  and  his  brigade  stood  off  the  savage 
charge  of  nearly  ten  times  as  large  a  force,  with  the  loss  of  nearly 
two-thirds  of  their  number,  will  be  remembered  as  one  of  the 
most  gallant  achievements  of  the  great  War.  And  the  courage 
which  does  not  depend  on  the  inspiration  of  conflict  and  of  num 
bers  is  also  his. 

"In  July,  1879,  he  had  occasion  to  visit  his  great  sheep  ranch  in 
the  wild  San  Gorgonio  Pass,  California.  The  country  was  then 
infested  with  notorious  Mexican  and  American  bandits,  and 
travelers  always  .went  armed.  General  Bouton  and  his  partner 
were  driving  along  the  moonlit  forest  road,  when  three  masked 
men  sprang  suddenly  from  the  bushes  and  thrust  in  their  faces  a 
double  barrelled  shot  gun  and  two  six-shooters,  at  the  same  time 
seizing  their  horses.  It  was  understood  that  the  General  was  car 
rying  $18,000  to  buy  a  band  of  nine  thousand  sheep,  and  this  the 
highwaymen  were  after.  They  made  the  travelers  dismount  and 
fastened  their  arms  behind  them  with  chains,  closing  the  links  with 
a  pair  of  pinchers.  Another  chain  was  similarly  fastened  about 

114 


General  Bouton's  neck,  and  one  of  the  desperadoes,  a  cocked  re 
volver  in  hand,  led  him  along  by  this,  while  the  other  two  held 
shotgun  and  revolver  ready  to  shoot  at  the  slightest  resistance  of 
the  prisoner.  So  the  strange  procession  started  off  ,the  highway 
men  desiring  to  march  their  prisoners  away  from  the  road  to  some 
secluded  spot  where  their  bodies  could  be  safely  concealed.  Their 
intention  to  rob  and  then  murder,  fully  established  by  later  de 
velopments,  was  perfectly  understood  by  the  captives;  and  the 
General  decided  if  he  must  die,  he  would  die  trying.  As  they 
trod  the  lonely  path  in  silence,  he  felt  along  the  chain  which  se 
cured  his  wrist;  with  utmost  caution,  lest  the  bandit  behind  with  a 
cocked  shotgun  should  perceive  his  intent.  Slowly  and  noiselessly 
he  groped,  till  he  found  a  link  which  was  not  perfectly  closed; 
and,  putting  all  his  strength  into  a  supreme  effort  (but  guarded 
one),  he  wrenched  the  link  still  wider  open,  and  managed  to  un 
hook  it.  Without  changing  the  position  of  his  hands  perceptibly 
he  began  to  draw  his  right  cautiously  up  towards  his  hi})  pocket. 
Just  as  it  rested  on  the  grip  of  the  small  revolver  concealed  there, 
the  highwayman  behind  saw  what  he  was  at,  and  with  a  shout 
threw  the  shotgun  to  his  shoulder.  But  before  he  could  pull  the 
trigger,  Bouton  had  snatched  out  his  pistol,  wheeled  about,  and 
shot  him  down.  The  desperado  who  was  leading  Bouton  by  the 
chain  whirled  around  with  his  six-shooter  at  a  level,  but  too  late, 
a  ball  from  the  General's  revolver  dropped  him  dead.  The  third 
robber  made  an  equally  vain  attempt  to  shoot  the  audacious  pris 
oner,  and  was  in  turn  laid  low  by  the  same  unerring  aim.  It  was 
lightning  wrork  and  adamantine  firmness,  three  shots  in  half  as 
many  seconds,  and  every  shot  a  counter." 


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